So Far From Where
by arina73
Summary: Kaia Taftan was normal. Her job was normal, until it wasn't anymore. Nothing in Gotham is as it seems, until it has to be. Bruce Wayne/OC. Elements of BB, TDK and TDKR. Slow to start but going places. T for now.
1. Chapter 1: Nature Boy

**__****_The slow pacing... I know :S_** Going to be merging parts Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Changing some of the ages, things like that, which generally go with blending stories. Let me know what you think!

_Chapter One – Nature Boy_

"… There was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy

They say he'd wandered very far, very far

Over land and sea…"

– Nat King Cole

* * *

Kaia Taftan was not an especially unordinary looking person. The way she dressed, the way she behaved and conducted herself was small, quiet and unobtrusive. It was the way she had gone through life, sitting in the back of class, not speaking unless she had something to say, not moving unless she had something to do. She and Lou often joked that it was her combination of steely stubbornness and mouse-like background blending that got her stuck in her current position.

Even though they joked about it, Kaia did not feel 'stuck' in fact she had winded up exactly where she had wanted to be. She had stuck to Lou and that was where she had wanted to stay stuck. An internship for her final year in graduate school, where most of her time was spent observing and not participating was a dream come true for Kaia. If she had gained anything, other than a mother shaped chip on her shoulder, from her years as a gymnast was that she learned best by watching then figuring and working out the 'hows' and 'whys'. And she wanted to learn, even if it meant being largely ignored and living in a three floor walk-up in Old Town. 'At least it's not the Narrows…' she sighed, blowing a stray strand of brown hair out of her light brown eyes, rolling her shoulders and correcting her stance.

Lou had seen her though, once he had realized that she had followed him down, he really could not shake her. He had been the reason Kaia had applied for the internship, he had been her 'Svetlana Boguinskaia'. Needless to say when she had explained that as her reason for following both him and his career for as long as she had, Kaia had to elaborate. She informed him of her mother's obsession with the balletic, towering and powerful Russian gymnast, how her mother modeled her own failed gymnastics career after the woman and then how she had tried to do same with Kaia.

Kaia, herself, had always liked the less obvious power of Svetlana Khorkina's elegant and subtle movements… but that was where it ended, the movements, the expressions and the pushed smiles were all too much for Kaia. In any case, much to her mother's chagrin, Kaia preferred to follow old Louie in his field of expertise with an energetic fervor.

Lou had just raised a bemused salt and pepper eyebrow at her explanation and had let her stay. After getting thrown down into the pit, he had been desperate for company and Kaia's learning seemed to pay off when applied, which was useful in the department named 'Applied Sciences'. Kaia was aware that he had been quick to learn, through personal experience that once she had found her footing with a person and known them for a few days that she would open up and speak as comfortably as ever. However, whenever a new person entered the conversation or they left their private space Kaia would close up again, shut her tongue behind her teeth and find a wall to fade back into, not wanting to intrude where she felt she did not belong.

In the two years that Lucius had been down in the basement with only Kaia for company he had confessed to her that since the disappearance of the 'Crown Prince of Gotham' he had felt both out of place and in the best place possible. He felt that he had a name and legacy to uphold at Wayne Enterprises for the sake of Thomas and Martha Wayne and for Gotham itself, but he also felt as though he was as useless an ant fighting goliath from the bottom rung of the company's ladder. With Kaia's internship being in the last year of her two year graduate program, they had known one another for a total of three years but beginning with that confession they had only truly known one another for two years.

Now, almost at 25 Kaia was surrounded by technologies she could only have dreamed of working on, with one of the most gifted mentors on the planet and in the city that she could not make herself hate no matter what reason it gave her to despise it. 'My best friends are here too…' she thought to herself, as she straightened her posture and raised her arms up. Nona Milly, Mrs. Allen, 'Uncle' Eddie, Lou and small-talk with Caitlyn 'Who needs consistent friends under 50 anyway?' Mrs. Allen lived downstairs and smelt of meatloaf and peppermint candies.

The woman was wonderful, another reason why Kaia could not simply ride off the entire city as struggling test at civil society. Mrs. Allen had spent her entire life teaching girls not to be victims in a part of town that would have women become victims to pimps and thugs. Kaia was no fighter, and though Mrs. Allen tired the only lesson she could force the stubborn girl to learn was that the best way to get out of a fight where she was out-matched was to use the assailant's momentum against them, failing that the best option was to breathe and to run.

Mrs. Allen's most attentive student lived was a few years older than Kaia and lived in the third floor apartment above her, with Caitlyn. Kaia had never had the best of luck with making light conversation, especially with her own peers but she would try to be pleasant to Caitlyn, who gave Kaia no reason to be so eager to run away. Caitlyn, who with her zoned out stare and absent-minded conversation gave the impression of a lost kitten that would likely sharpen it claws on a person's new clothes while they weren't looking.

She was sweet, though attracting all sorts of trouble with her openness, often times Kaia would be on the verge of stepping out into the hall to interrupt whatever ruckus Caitlyn's latest date would be making, when the younger girl's protective roommate, Mrs. Allen's favourite student, would invariably step in and quell the scuffling.

'Ah well… no need to be a hero' Kaia sucked in breath, grinning 'this is going to work…' she heard a swish and thud as she released her breath, squealing in glee and happy dancing in her bare feet to a tune of her own creation, something along the lines of "Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Who rules? I do!"

"I take it your project is a success?" she heard the chuckle in Lucius Fox's deep voice behind her. "I admit, that champion soundtrack is better than ear-splitting stuff you insist is music."

"Lou!" she ran to the fatherly older man, ignoring his quip about her music and squeezing him in brief hug "You saw! It worked!" she pulled back holding the metal bow she had been working on for the past four months.

In the bright lights of the sprawling basement of Wayne Tower, Kaia had fixed all manner of electronic prototypes and chemical technology. Between she and Lucius, Kaia was convinced every failed piece of military technology could be made functional, though considering what the technology was capable of she was not entirely sure that any of the would-be weapons had a place out in the real world.

The bow was a case and point. Alone it was a plain old metal bow, but if made to work as it was intended to, it was a stealthy compactable weapon with about as many compartments as a Swiss army knife and an arsenal of alterable arrows to match. At first Lucius teased her for the amount of time and energy she was pouring into a weapon which was literally as ancient as bow and arrow technology. But Kaia silenced his teasing when she pointed out that some higher-up in the government had thought that the weapon was worth putting into production and that another someone thought that the more advanced prototype of the weapons was worth stealing. And that though bugs remained in the second prototype, that other someone might suss them out and accomplish who knows what with the mothballed project. "How would you feel if we could have figured all there is to know about the function of this weapon but just chose not to before it was too late?"

With that Kaia began her work, tinkering away. 'It's a bow! How difficult can a bow be!' she would often find herself gritting her teeth in frustration. She had worked out how to get the bow to a compact size for the thigh holster that it was designed for fast enough and with relative ease... it was getting the alignment of the string right with each consecutive pull from the holster. At first she had thought it was her posture but Lou had quickly corrected any problems on that front.

"My little girl was given a ultimatum by my wife being an archer or an equestrian…"

"Clearly the bow and arrow are the cooler path…" Kaia had smiled, as Lucius had demonstrated the correct stance and hold for her.

"They may have been" he had smiled wistfully, as he handed the bow back to Kaia "But eventually they were not very useful for the everyday Gotham lawyer…" he had tugged her elbow up higher, though what he had said had made Kaia had turn to face the older man.

"Your daughter's a lawyer in Gotham?" They had spoken about their families before, Lucius had said his wife had moved across the country when they had separated years ago, and when he had initially mentioned that his daughter was a lawyer Kaia had assumed that he meant that his daughter had pursued the career outside of Gotham. The fact that he mentioned Gotham now, must have meant he wanted Kaia to be aware of a personal something because being a lawyer in Gotham city meant one of two things… "What kind?" she had asked, mentally adding 'Corrupt or a crusading Dent?'

"She was a criminal prosecutor…"

"Was…" that had hit her like a sack of bricks to the stomach. 'Forgot the third type… an offshoot of being a Dent…'

"She'd have been thirty-five… my wife couldn't handle living here anymore… and I…" his shiny brown eyes looked up at the lighted ceiling "couldn't leave…" he had scoffed, "when I think of starting at Wayne, of the future I had seen for myself and my family, for the Wayne family even… for this city, ah" he had hissed scuffing his shoes against the grey concrete floor "suppose the city's still here…"

Kaia had looked at the man who had taped himself together in all of these years, the tall man who had suddenly appeared so small, "Lou…" that was the first time she had hugged him. "I'm here with your city." They had both known that she had meant they had crossed the line that they had seen nearing on the horizon for some time, she had meant that they were family.

Now as she hugged him four months later he shared her excitement and took her joy as his own, as a parent would.

"_Our_ project" she had corrected him. "Now to keep the more interesting arrows from going all crazy when we shoot them…" Kaia turned on her heel her light brown eyes moving first to the target in the distance and moving to peer at the string of the bow.

She felt Lou's hand clap proudly on her shoulder "You really have that scientific drive… nothing's ever finished…"

Kaia sighed as she responded to the mocking tone in his voice "Not 'til you or the gods says so…"

* * *

The rest of the week was a series of failed attempts to get the arrows to work. Kaia had gone home that weekend and locked herself in her one bedroom apartment and on a diet of two-minute noodles she drawn configurations that she thought may work. Normally she would have felt slothful for not exercising at least once in a weekend but she was so excited and lighted up with ideas that she let herself off the hook.

Mondays were funny days for work. Lucius always hated Monday mornings, Kaia always had sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the fact that she had Monday mornings off and he disliked being so alone in a hole in the ground.

But Monday morning Kaia had an appointment she could not break, one that Lucius understood and as her technical supervisor allowed her to have.

It was her day to visit her Nona Milly, in the Gotham home for the Elderly, just by the constantly overflowing city hospital, Gotham General. Her mother's mother, the sweetest old lady in the world, who had suffered a stroke and was not only left paralyzed but could no longer tell what was happening around her. Kaia would have visited more often if she could have, but visiting hours fell directly into her scheduled work time and weekend visits were not allowed, as funding for staff was so low that there was not enough to keep the wards safe and functional on weekends. Kaia could not fault that rationale especially with the severely understaffed, underpaid and overworked employees wanting to have time to themselves or to spend with their own families.

'At least there are Mondays' Nona Milly had good days, sometimes Kaia would see a flicker of recognition in the older woman's grey eyes, when she would move close to wipe the dribble off of the older woman's gaunt chin. Sometimes the bedridden woman could clasp a pencil in her hands and write the wobbly letters the beginning of a word. Now and then it would read 'Sch…' or 'Boy…' if the latter Kaia would scoff and shake her head at the once lively women, seeing the fun-loving part of what remained of the beautiful woman. 'Still beautiful' Kaia would smile lovingly, combing her Nona's grey and silver streaked hair.

When it was the first word scribbled out it would make Kaia's heart clench, she would know that her Nona Milly had forgotten about her last visit, that she had lost all the years of speeding through her schooling, all of the updates, all of the passions and stories that they had shared. "School is going well" she would reply, trying to keep her grin from wavering "your investment's paying off…" Kaia would hope that the old news would comfort her Nona, even if it was just for a brief moment. The older woman had given every cent she had to Kaia for her schooling, it hadn't been enough the rest came from Kaia's father.

When Kaia was 20, her Nona had suffered her stroke, it turned out that Kaia's father, an Edward Taftan had felt some guilt for knocking up her mother, then stepping out. She had to be 21 to collect, as a result Kaia had to rely on student loans, for that year, refusing to use her Nona Milly's money on anything other than the older woman's medical care. If Kaia had it her way she would have taken care of her Nona herself, but it simply was not practical. Mr. Taftan's money was enough for her to finish schooling thanks to the fact that she stretched it enough and put it high interest account and worked some grocery store shift work, done some gymnastics' training at the rec centre and repaired a few electronics 'those few hundreds and percent's helped'.

She left her Nona with a kiss and an "I love you" by 11 a.m. usually, taking the train to Wayne Tower and getting the best hot chocolate in the world from 'Uncle' Eddie, whose coffee shop was located on the path from the Gotham General to the train platform.

'Uncle' Eddie was what everyone, even people older than him, called the obese Ukrainian man, who always had something greasy on his apron. It was the smell of the hot chocolate that had drawn her in the first time, it had reminded her of the smell of her Nona's hot chocolate, some spice they both used… Kaia had worked up the courage to ask 'Uncle' Eddie for the recipe on her first visit.

"If I tell you now, how will I be sure you come back?" he had asked in his thick accent, laughing a jolly sort of laugh "This is not good business…"

In the following three visits Kaia's timid voice was gone. 'Uncle' Eddie had worked his way in, on those first mornings where she had time to spare Kaia would sit and enjoy the experience watching 'Uncle' Eddie work and talk "You see my boy? Ysef!" he would yell back towards the window behind the counter that looked into the kitchen, a shaky boy with a tuft of blond hair would peer out "You see…" 'Uncle' Eddie would frown and tsk as though it were self-explanatory. "Hopeless, will he marry? No. Will he give his mother a grandchild? No. You have a nice boy, huh?" he had wiggled his lined brow, as Kaia blushed, nervously 'Please don't set me up with…' "Not to worry, my boy is not for a good girl like you." The older man had chuckled, nodding knowingly.

It was a good thing too, as two years later, Ysef and a girl who had blushed beet red at the counter whenever the boy would appear at the window, were happily married. Over the five years since Nona Milly's incident 'Uncle' Eddie had become a Monday staple, he had told her that investing was a risk, but that there was a lot of money to make or loose and that high interest savings, if left untouched was more of a guarantee but much slower and smaller. "Up to you though…" he had said, when she had turned 21"only you know what you have to loose…" with that she had thought of her Nona Milly, her education, her crappy apartment, the promise she had made to herself when she had last argued with her mother.

All these years later, 'Uncle' Eddie still hadn't given up his secret and Kaia showed up every Monday, since finishing school she was usually in a rush. The only change was that she asked for two large hot chocolates, at first she'd been ribbed by 'Uncle' Eddie about a potential man, until she revealed Lou's age and status as a mentor and recently addicted hot chocolate consumer. 'Uncle' Eddie had shaken his head "No good. No good little girl."

This particular Monday she had prattled on to Nona Milly about her project, and was bouncing on her feet to get to work. She felt excitement buzz around her, so much so she was sure that the entire world around his was vibrating with the same electric current.

She and Lucius were the only people who ever took the second ride on side elevator down to the basement, after going up to the top floor of Wayne Tower, from the moment the she arrived to the building all she wanted to do was discuss the plans with Lou.

The doors pinged, opening to the blazingly lit room, she could hear Lucius' voice around the other side of the huge central pillar of the basement.

"A bit young for dementia huh Lou?" she called with grinned, walking towards Lucius' suddenly silenced voice. "You won't believe the designs. Maybe I'm tooting my own horn but they're pretty freaking awesome!"

"Kaia?" He called back.

"No the ghost of Christmas past, I got your hot choc…" Kaia stopped short, tightening her grip on the Styrofoam cups in her hands, dangerously enough to threaten the plastic lids popping off. Standing there next to Lucius, was a handsome dark-haired man, in a handsome suit with a damnably handsome smirk on his lips.

"I- I-" Kaia looked between Lucius and the handsome man. Her heart pounded in her chest, this was not the way she met new people, this was the self that she let some people see, 'How am I meant to fade into the wallpaper now?' the look on Lou's face spoke volumes, he understood the way her mind worked, but before he could intervene. Kaia's mind convinced her mouth she that she had to say something to rectify the situation 'Figure it out as you go…' that apparently was a badly idea, she opened her mouth as though she were about to speak, effectively cutting Lucius off before he could say anything, however no sound came out. She coughed.

"Kaia, this is Bruce Wayne" Lucius finally spoke up. "Mr. Wayne this is Kaia Taftan, one of the brightest minds in Gotham today."

'Oh! Introductions!…'Kaia moved herself out of her stupor, taking a few steps toward the two men, she held out her right hand "I… oh…" she realized that Lucius' hot chocolate was still in her hand, "um, 'Uncle' Eddie's hot chocolate" she looked from the drink up to Lucius, "it's the best" then a social manner occurred to her "I would offer you some," speaking apologetically, looking back to the handsome hazel-eyed man "I mean do you want some Mr…" she lamely held out the cup in her hand towards the amused looking man, her eyes widened as the pieces of the past moments in her whirring mind clicked into place " Mr. W- Wayne?" she turned back to Lucius, "as in?…" she breathed, conveying what she meant and asking 'the dead one?' with her dismayed look to Lucius, who silently and slowly nodded his head.

"The name above the door." The handsome man's, smooth handsome voice snapped her focus back.

"R- right…" she cleared her throat "Mr. Wayne" she held out her hand, realizing that the cup was still there "Oh…" Kaia blushed, handing the drink to Lucius, as Bruce stood hands clasped before him his bottom lip bit between his teeth as he clearly tried to contain his entertained smiling, if not laughter at the scattered woman. Before she could disjointedly offer again Bruce took her small hand in his large one and greeted her.

"I look forward to working with you and your bright mind." He smiled, speaking slowly and clearly.

Her brown eyes ran over her his grinning face 'Is making fun of me?' the look in his penetrating hazel gaze was difficult to read "Yes well, being bright pays the bills… still thank goodness I have no names to keep lit over buildings, let alone doorways…" she turned her face back to Lucius. "Lou, I'll be working on the bow if you need me." Kaia was about to stride away, when she realized the warm hold that continued to engulf her hand. 'Have I lost all sense in that appendage?' she raised her eyes up to meet Bruce Wayne's 'Have I lost all my manners, I insulted him for no reason. I should…' "It was nice to have met you." She tried not to mumble as she pulled her hand out his grasp.

Kaia gave a stumped looking Lucius a quick smile before turning on her toes and zooming out of there as fast as she could.

But not before she heard the smooth voice scoff "Lou?"

To which her still fuzzy mind could not help but reply 'Bruce Wayne?'

* * *

**_Hope you like it so far!_**


	2. Chapter 2: Here I Go Again

_**Thanks so much for the support. Yay next chapter, hope you don't find it to suck too badly.**_

_Chapter Two – Here I Go Again_

"… And here I go again on my own

Goin' down the only road I've ever known

Like a drifter I was born to walk alone

And I've made up my mind

I ain't wasting no more time…"

– Whitesnake

* * *

The next two weeks had been surprisingly uneventful, at least on the work front. Having had -left the tower basement on his first day while Kaia had been on her midafternoon walk. "No better than yours" Lucuis had simply replied when she had asked if the billionaire had a brain to match the polish. Since that day Wayne had yet to pop up again, allowing Kaia a chance to settle back into her workspace. Lou had however been uprooted from the basement, it seemed that he had some hobnobbing and elbow rubbing to do at the meetings and galas that took place all year round in Gotham's elite circles.

Lou hated them, he only attended such events for a few weeks each year, while military advisors and dealmakers or breakers were in town, if only to keep his name in the pot. Even so, in those few weeks he would usually return with situational drama, that tended to unfold like slapstick comedy at these events, enough to entertain both them for the duration of the year. At times Kaia felt bad for laughing at people she didn't know, she didn't mean to judge, but in all honesty she didn't really think she was judging. She was human and could not help but laugh at whatever scenario Lucius would describe especially in the way the older man would describe it. It was nearly impossible to keep a straight face, that would be until Lou would bring up the fact that soon enough she too would have to grow accustom to such gatherings, especially if wanted to be a successful female in the field she had chosen.

But at this juncture it looked to be that the time for Lucius, the weeks for this year, had come. No doubt the abrupt scheduling had to do with the sudden resurrection of Gotham favourite son. 'More of a have a Harvey - Dent - type take legal action girl, myself…' Kaia would think to herself when she heard people in the city whisper about the returned Wayne and what he could mean for Gotham.

Even if he had been mysteriously 'dead' for seven years, Bruce Wayne's private business was his own and Kaia had only seen him once, she didn't want to paint picture of a man she barely knew, so when 'Uncle' Eddie had asked if she had met him and about what he was like Kaia could not bring herself to bias the only opinion she that could really and legitimately form of him. She gave all she could at the point, something she could not see Mr. Wayne having a problem with the public knowing "He has nice manners." Kaia offered a disappointed looking 'Uncle' Eddie.

'… and is startlingly awesome at being handsome…' Kaia had mused to herself before she could tap her thoughts. She had told everything to Nona Milly though. Even if she wasn't in her current state Kaia would have told her Nona all of the thoughts that were running through her head, the old lady never had trouble being the best kind of nosy "haven't changed at all…" Kaia had smiled as she dabbed some wetness off of the older woman chin.

It all seemed to progressively be becoming a smidge too insane, it seemed every time she looked up Bruce Wayne's name and face were splashed over every newsstand, and on every hourly radio news update. She had to remind herself that he was a living breathing man and not just some public entity. 'I met him for goodness sake!'

Kaia was sure that if she had a TV it would be worse 'Actually if you were the man himself it'd probably be worse… but in any case as far as broadcasts go the old box would probably suck right now' Anything worth knowing Lou discussed with her anyway. And she had figured that there was no point in getting one of her own for the three cruddy public broadcast channels, unless she was going to buy satellite TV, which in Old Town was about as useful as paying for a crappy spotty wireless internet connection.

The radio connection worked just fine though, just as it did in the basement of the great Wayne Tower. Lucius was much more an operatic, orchestral, chamber or classical music type, enjoying Nikolai Tcherepnin, Johann Martin Kraus, John Adams which Kaia enjoyed as well. Often she'd be taken back to nights where her ears were filled with Georges Bizet's movements for Carmen. But she needed more variation in her music, which was why the radio was perfect for her, some days it was R&B, others it was folk, or techno, jazz, the blues, house, rap, pop this Friday though it was rock.

As much as she missed the older man's company and as much help as she needed with her project, it was nice to play the music that she liked. It was not all time she spent on her own fancies, she barely got to look at the arrows that second week, in his time away Lou had left some notes on specific private files and parts of those files that he needed pulled for a meeting that very Friday afternoon. It was just after lunch and she had an hour to pull last of the files, on a list of files which seemed to concern long suspended military deals and technologies. 'Oh well, the man wants what he wants' she smiled, turning up the radio on Lucius' desk to better hear the dulcet tones of November Rain, 'and so does the heart.'

While her work life had been rather unchanged since Lucius' departure, it was her free time that had made her second week alone in the basement more interesting. On Tuesday Kaia had gotten a phone call from John, her former part-time employer at the rec centre, one of many high-ranking, long suffering and underfunded social workers in the city. "You see I got Clara for art and Ana for music for two days each a week and that's all my entire budget allows, I'd rather have the kids stay in the afterschool program on Friday rather than, you know, be out on Friday nights but that leaves me short every Thursday… which is still not the best thing in the world… If you can't already see where I'm going with this, please would you help me out? These kids', their parents have to work crappy shifts and can't get their kids home safe… we can get a volunteer teacher to rotate through each Thursday and stay 'til 5:30, but then after that we need someone… and it won't go past 7… 8 at the latest…" he had rambled on disjointed and clearly desperate, not letting Kaia get her 'yes' in until he finished.

"I'll do it…" 'Something to make me less of a recluse… and help my city…'

"Really?" his voice had sounded oddly deflated over the muffled connection. "You heard the part about 'no budget'? No pay? 8 o'clock?"

"Do you not want…" Kaia had begun her false threat.

"NO! No, I want you to! I want you to!" John had practically screamed through the line, before his voice had become quiet "It's just this whole thing's been such a headache…" she could hear his weariness "I'll don't know what to say… but I owe you Kaia."

"Just wait 'til you see how I do with the kids…" her smile had dropped into frown for a moment "…speaking of which, don't I need some sort of license or something?"

"Nah. You still have your first aid certificate right? It doesn't need to be renewed or anything?"

"Nope. I have it."

"Great, then given your background you qualify as a basic gymnastics teacher."

"Gymnastics?" Kaia had questioned, slightly taken aback.

"Yeah. What did you think I was gonna have you do with them?"

"Dunno" Kaia had shrugged she shoulders "Watch 'em?" she heard John laughing, as she continued. "But really John? Gymnastics for almost three hours… girls, might be a bit easier to involve but aren't there boys too?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Impress them…" he had carried on chuckling.

On Thursday evening Kaia had brought along a series of kid friendly movie rentals as well as a bag of small gummy candy packets, and then raided the game cupboard at the rec centre in case the kids got tired out or bored before the two and a half hours were up. By train the platform closest to the rec centre was five minutes away from where Kaia lived in one direction and ten minutes away from Wayne Tower in the other direction, the rec centre itself was five minutes away from that platform. Kaia had made it in time to greet a thankful John and reacquaint herself with the ill-equipped gymnasium but she was still jittery and nervous 'they're just kids' she had scolded herself as she did a quick five minute warm-up 'it's not like you let yourself slack off…'

When the kids had filed in, Kaia had them sit in a circle on the duct taped blue mat that covered the middle of the floor and introduce themselves, their age and their most favourite thing about themselves. They were a group of 20 kids, all between nine and eleven, an even mix of girls and boys, though there were more older girls than older boys and vice versa.

As predicted after they had played tag and stretched for a warm-up, the older kids found the prospect of practicing backbends and somersaults to be beneath them. They had kept on asking why, until finally Kaia made the kids stand at the edge of the mat.

"If you don't perfect the basics" she had breathed, 'round off back handspring back tuck… well done, a simple routine and you're not dead, you don't look a fool' Kaia had inhaled deeply, grinning as she spoke "you won't be able to apply them…" she spoke smiling at the small gaping faces, it was clear the she had to say what she had said next "I know that what I did looked cool. And you probably wanna try it, but it took me years of practicing and then building up and keeping up my strength. I needed a safe place to practice, with someone who knew how to teach me properly and safely before I could trust my own body to do what I wanted to…" her light brown eyes had flitted over the tiny face, she could only think of the weight of one of their lives on her shoulders, if they did not heed her and tried to imitate her anyway.

"Kay, I want everyone to point to how far across the mat they can jump," Kaia had gone along dropping a packet of candy to the spot where each of the kids pointed , dropping her own one deliberately far and last of all before joining the end of the line of children herself "All right, so everyone bend low and try to jump as far as you can…" most of them did not make it halfway to their candy, Kaia too was surprised at how much she had overestimated herself, even with her hidden intent to not reach her candy. Regardless, she smiled "See, everyone has trouble figuring out how to make their body work," she had ruffled the blond hair of a small dirty faced boy, who had moved to stand next to Kaia's candy and accusatorily point, with a small chuckle she had continued "… even after all my training I'm off sometimes and I still have to keep working at it as my body changes… but the best way to be more sure of yourself is to practice and build slowly, eventually you'll be able to do all sorts of things."

They had all wanted to do somersaults and backbends after that and eating their candy. The little ones had pretty well tuckered themselves and Kaia out an hour before their time was meant to be up, so they had all agreed to watch the beginning of Toy Story on the ancient rec centre TV, eating what was left of the candy that Kaia had brought. Just before 8 pm John had come into the gym to make sure that each of the children were being picked up by the right people. He had thanked her again, she could have sworn by his rundown, watery blue eyes that he was about to burst into tears. Kaia patted him on the shoulder, told him to take it easy and say hi to Courtney and Clay, his wife and 14 year old son, before wishing the quickly burning out man a good night.

The next morning Kaia had a spring in her step, she knew what it was from, the high of doing a routine, or at least the closest thing to a routine she had done in a long while, and not just a series of moves. It had her feeling confident, to know and be sure of her own strength, in the same way that having a mechanism , that she had been working on at Wayne Tower, click into place would. It had made her confident enough to forgo her normal flat shoes for her modest 2 inch black heels, buried deep in her closet.

She wanted the height 'you could go higher…' she shook the thought from mind, anymore inches and her confidence bubble would burst. She would feel as though she were a poser, drawing attention to her newly tall self, clicking, awkwardly out of place and faking a comfortable demeanor to seem like someone she could never hope to be… she rarely wore even low heels, but today she felt truly good from the inside out and so off she went, not caring of what her footing might mean.

November Rain was finishing up, and she was quickly finding that one of the other perks of Lucius' guaranteed absence was that blasting the music and dancing like no one was watching was actually possible. As she stacked Lucius personal files and ordered them, half-walking and half-moving to the music, she grinned to herself wondering if she could still… she ran, 'there's some grip…' stretching her legs before her finish a simple front walkover as she knew she could, Kaia looked down at the heel portions of her shoes 'could do more, from higher up…' a small memory prodded at her mind, her mother's voice in her head 'It's sweet of you, doing this for me, but I don't want you hurting yourself' she saw her mother rub her Achilles tendon as though she were directly before Kaia, speaking again 'not like me…'

The next song cued up, pulling her out of her thoughts and from there Kaia could not stop the goofy grin that spread across her face. 'Time to kick off the shoes…' she turned up the already loud radio and her in her bare feet she twirled, high-kicked, rolled her hips, ran her hands dramatically through her brown hair, screeched the lyrics and did every cheese-ball 80s rock move she could think of, the whole time laughing at herself and what she must have looked like.

* * *

Bruce had been in Gotham for just over a month now, though he had only made himself visible in the past two weeks. That first Monday meeting with the board could not have been anymore aggravating, he had never expected that Gotham's ruin would splatter the names of his father and mother with so much filth. 'Weapons…' he wanted to shake his head at the duplicitous Mr. Earle 'What would my father… a doctor, who built his life around saving people say? You worm.' The years of training, had paid off, Bruce had ignored his impulse to break the man's jaw 'all in the end… the end' he smiled, played his part and flippantly asked for someplace to get to know the company. "… Applied Sciences, perhaps?"

In the three weeks before he had made his presence known in Gotham, Bruce had worked out the details of who and what was at work in the city. Hiding under hoods, listening to conversations at a long range, watching, waiting… learning about his city.

Alfred had taken some convincing "It's not for me Alfred. It's for my parents, this city they loved and people in it…" before long the old man was ordering black masks and ears by the thousands and laying out the schematics for the roads, structures and tunnels in running through Gotham.

Bruce had needed to know that the good people were still good, still fighting. Rachel Dawes, his closest childhood friend, the woman he had thought of when he was cold at night, or when longed for home, or when he imagined any future at all. When he had left she had been a fourth year student, studying pre-law at Gotham University, with a better scholarly drive than he had in his bioengineering program at Princeton. Now, she was a lawyer seeking the justice that she so deeply clung to as a means to cleaning up Gotham. And in that objective, she was not alone on her arm was Harvey Dent, 'the White Knight about town' and a very good candidate for district attorney in the upcoming elections.

They were a successful team, considering how far they had made it in an utterly corrupt and dysfunctional system. Bruce knew that despite his public popularity this 'White Knight' could not scare up votes or fudge numbers the way Carmine Falcone and his goons could. As Bruce had watched the pair from a safe distance, the girl of his dreams with a man who was not afraid to defend the city publically, he had wondered briefly if what he was planning on doing was truly necessary.

He had watched as what Dent had said made Rachel laugh and smile, the youthful, light-hearted laugh she had shared with Bruce when they were children. He thought of his parents. All at once a new thought had hit Bruce, working to justify his plan 'how much time do good such public people have left in such a twisted city?' he had watched as the beloved White Knight wrapped his arm around Rachel 'Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent…' Bruce's hazel eyes had darted to Rachel's seemingly stuck smile '…get to Rachel soon enough… first _**our city**_…' a gruff voice rumbled in his skull.

Gordon, that was the first step to repairing the city, in his mind Sergeant Jim Gordon was all that Gotham could be at its finest and what it was reduced to at its lowest. When Bruce was a child Gordon had offered him a human kindness, he hadn't tried to gloss over or pretend that Joe Chill getting caught immediately after his crime changed anything. Gordon had been a person, there with Bruce, there with a child who needed someone to bring to light that the world had not end, that there were good people.

At his lowest Bruce felt his childhood memory of a flawless man take a slight hit, Gordon looked away as men took bribes, he did what he could and in the end he stood defeated and wearing a mask of apathy 'it's only a mask…' Bruce had thought behind his own ski mask as he pretended to threaten the good cop, he informed Gordon that the mob's time had come and that if he could not get up to Dent, then that Rachel Dawes was the one to go to, in order to prosecute Carmine Falcone.

He had barely set down the stapler, when Gordon came racing after him, out over the roof and down a very painful series of fire escape, For today's meeting Bruce clearly had items to add to the already large and odd list that he had given 'Lou.'

Bruce couldn't keep the smiling from tugging at his lips as he thought of the strange creature Lucius had been locked up with in the basement of Wayne Tower. 'Creature?' the smile tugged a little harder at her lips.

The elevator he was standing in, glided to halt and before the doors even opened he heard a few bars of a familiar song and the smile he had been trying to keep small was finished. He grinned down at his polished shoes, humming along and then the doors opened.

* * *

"… I MADE UP MY MIND!" she jumped, kicking the air "HERE I GO AGAIN ON MY OWN!" she ground her hips, and snapped her teeth to the electrifying music, then broke down into a fit of giggles at her own ridiculousness, inhaling as she took a break to lean over and look the files on the table, hips lazily swaying to the beat. Her curiosity had piqued again, they had all been pretty odd files, other than the fact that they were military contracts they were all for fairly unique and unlinked combat operations. "Hmm, Lou what toes are you sucking on?" she asked out loud, as the music began to fade out.

"A bit young for dementia huh?"

Kaia whooshed out a deep breath 'this is not happening, this is not happening' "Spirit of Christmas past?" Kaia winced in a meek tenor, asking though she already knew the unmistakably smooth voice.

She heard a snort "Not exactly…"

"Fantastic." Kaia muttered, she could feel the heat rising in her body again. 'It takes longer than half way through that song to get to where it sounds like his standing… he had to have seen…' she gulped 'why does this keep happening?… this is not how I'm meant to meet people…'

She heard what sounded like humming that wasn't coming from the speakers as he waited behind her and as she tried to figure out what to do. 'Just bite the bullet!' she clicked off the stereo. Turning to meet a very happy looking Bruce Wayne, who had in actuality had been much closer to her than she had realized.

"Mr. Wayne…" she stopped, when she recognized the tune that was passing through his parted, grinning lips was the song she had just humiliated herself to. "Mr. Wayn…"

"Bruce…" he interrupted her, then proving his aptitude for smiling dashingly.

'… would be so much easier if he wasn't so together and I wasn't so…' she crossed her arms over chest, when she looked down at her now dirty feet wiggling her toes, all the while resisting the urge to either run her hand through her disheveled hair or melt into a puddle under his piercing hazel stare and looming presence.

He had moved towards her, in the time she had let her mind run rampant. He tapped the radio, his sudden closeness caused Kaia to back away a little. "Nice to know where the company's resources are going." He spoke with a smile, his tone entirely too charming.

'He's not making fun of me again?' She took in his expression, once again utterly confusing 'I think he might be…'

Before she could stop herself she heard the low teasing words slip out of her mouth "Don't worry Mr. Wayne there's still enough for that trust fund…"

As soon as she said she regretted it, as soon as she saw the pain flitter through his eyes and his smile droop, she wanted to smack herself in the face. 'What are you doing Kaia? What is wrong with you? He lost his parents, right in front of him, who's what he feels about his… their… that money?'

"I didn…" she hoped the look she was giving him would convey the sincerity of the apology she was about to mumble out, when the elevator doors had pinged open.

"Bruce! So sorry, am I late?" Lucius' voice sounded across the room.

"No" Bruce called, though his hazel eyes remained stuck to Kaia's brown remorseful ones for a moment before he turned to face the older man, his voice loud and jovial, so unlike the hard, the exhausting emotion that Kaia had seen run across his face a moment ago "I'm early and I'm afraid I have another request."

Kaia watched Bruce's back as he walked towards Lucius. The older man had a look akin to understanding on his face, "Oh… let's move over to what you're interested in then, Mr. Wayne" Lucius gestured to the area where they stored the world's strongest ropes and diving gear, then he looked past Bruce's frame to meet Kaia's gaze, "I'll just get those files on my way back…"

She nodded as they walked away "They'll be here waiting…" she muttered, wondering why she cared that Bruce Wayne had not once looked back at her. 'Maybe 'cause I haven't finished my apology ...'

Sighing Kaia pulled her shoes on to her feet, knowing that though she entered the feeling like herself, she would leave the building feeling like a completely in imposter. She gave the black shoes on her feet one last look before changing into her spare pair of flats "So much for feeling good…"

* * *

_**Hope you liked it. Let me know… like opinions.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Carmen

**_Hi! Hope your liking your week so far, And we go with the slow moving story…_**

_Chapter Three – Carmen_

"… She says you don't want to be like me

Don't wanna see all the things I've seen

I'm dying, I'm dying …"

– Lana del Rey

* * *

Over the next week Kaia did not get an opportunity to settle the atonement issue regarding Mr. Wayne, which had been weighing on her since she had realized that she had needlessly hurt him. It was on the Monday which followed that the Bruce Wayne puzzle completely stopped adding up to her. He had thrown the city into near turmoil when he crashed his shiny, silver Lamborghini by speeding to beat a red light only to run into a dump truck, trashing most of his car and injuring his leg. 'Uncle' Eddie had shaken this head. "These rich boy never learn how to drive proper…" Kaia had smiled into her chocolate, she had taken time to sit and talk with him that Monday morning.

Just as Lucius was her source for relavent scientific and world news, Uncle Eddie was her source for pop and street news, however relevant it may have been or not. Up to that point all the news had been about Gotham's favourite son returning and the 'fun' he had been having, though she smiled and scoffed Kaia was perplexed. The man she had met, that she felt the need to repent to, did not seem the type to reappear after a spell in limbo only to then throw his life and his parent's legacy around so recklessly. 'Maybe I'm assuming too much, I don't know him…' with that she took to shoving him out of her mind and focusing on her work.

This feat was helped greatly by the fact that, that very Tuesday, Wayne's face and name had been replaced by the headlines asking about the appearance of creature known only as the "Bat" around the docks and in the Narrows... and what had happened with her Nona Milly. "Bats, Rats the rodents in this are nothing… when you see a roach the size your face then you talk…" 'Uncle' Eddie had made Kaia laugh that Tuesday, when a needed to, her Nona had had a small scare early that morning, her memory had resurged and the older woman was utterly beside herself with confusion and fear. She had calmed down when Kaia had arrived, gurgling and jerking, trying to move and talk sad and broken when she realized that she no longer could.

Kaia had almost lost it, she took the day off of work and stayed by her Nona stroking her silver lined hair, "Don't be scared, I'm here…" comforting the old woman, in same way she had done for Kaia when the girl was a child. Her Nona had made one semi-coherent sound over and over, a nurse had asked if it was the word 'boy'… Kaia would have said yes if it had not been for the deep longing look in her Nona's stroke morphed grey eyes "No it's Roy". Though Nona Milly's and Kaia's grandfather shared a loving marriage and happy life together, it was not him that older woman called for, it Roy that was the love of her life Kaia remembered her Nona's wistful stories with a watery smile as she stroked the older woman's hair "I didn't have to marry him, most days I couldn't stand him… but having that once in lifetime love was worth it… it's more than what most people get…"

When it was over Kaia had want to take the rest of the week off and spend time with her Nona but the doctors said that the older woman needed rest, probably would get some better rest without visitors, they had said after such episodes typical stroke patients even less responsive... Kaia had wanted to tell the doctor to shove it but instead she nodded along, the only thing that had made Kaia feel remotely less guilty was when she was kissing her Nona good-bye and the older woman groaned, had her eyes met Kaia's brown gaze and moaned the word "fun…" clearly requesting that Kaia have some.

"Never change do you?" Kaia had grinned at her Nona.

While Kaia was sure that the development of this "Bat" character in Gotham was important, she the news had also coincided with her hitting her stride with her bow project, which she had found to be a much better distraction. As her drive renewed to fervently worked on it, she was able to figure out which re-attachable type of arrow heads worked for which shaft. Actually shooting and making the individual arrows work and designing a system by which to efficiently attach and carry the arrows however, were all tales for future weeks.

It would have been easier and faster if she had Lucius to bounce ideas off of but he had been pulled into his fourth week of meetings and events. It seemed to be the case that in spite of Bruce Wayne's antics, none of the military or investor interest had been deterred. People who wanted to meet him and see him kept popping out of the woodwork, flooding the city with new arrivals daily. At least that was the story Lou had told Kaia when he visited her on Wednesday just after she had settled into the office and finished her lunch.

"How's your Nona?" he had asked with genuine concern.

Kaia had felt a brief pull of guilt at not being at the woman's side, though she had called to check in on her "She's doing better Lou, thanks…" she had looked up at the kind man, adding with a smile "she's wondering when you're gonna finish with this patch of abandonment though…. I'll go nuts down here on my own…"

He had lifted a grey eyebrow in question "Mr. Wayne hasn't…?"

"No, not unless he was here yesterday… Anyway, I was under the impression he was a come-and-go as you please 'employee'…"

"Yes, but he does like what we have down here…"

Kaia's light brown eyes darted down to the cover of the newspaper that Lucius had brought in with him that afternoon and set down on his desk. Most of the page was devoted to an artist's rendition of eyewitness account of a hairy, semi-human bat creature, the rest had been dedicated to a picture of Bruce Wayne and his 'bathing beauties' ,as the paper had called them, taking a dip in a restaurant's indoor koi pond. Something about the fact that all 6' of big Bruce Wayne was hobbling around with a cane for his healing leg, fishing models out of koi ponds like so many Hugh Heffner types, made her want to laugh especially when in reality he was still so young "… grim visions of the future Lou?…" Kaia had nodded at the picture.

"Actually, I believe that the boy grew into the man he was meant to be…" Kaia raised her confused face to back up to the older man "Kaia, before it gets too out of hand, I need to…" his phone had gone off. He had excused himself, and talked with urgency into the phone.

When he had returned speak to Kaia his tenor was weary "I'm afraid I have a boring meeting with impossible with people…"

"You know Lou… seems a bit strange you say they're all here to meet the Prince of Gotham, but you're the one rushing around all over the place…"

"Yes well…" he a shrugged tiredly "someone has to, and it turns out that Oliver Queen's schedule is not as iron clad as his offices had made it seem…"

"Wow, Oliver Queen?" Kaia could not help but mutter, 'Star City's own long-lost billionaire playboy' and very big corporate fish, who had turned up just as mysteriously as Bruce Wayne about five years earlier.

Lou had nodded "Seeing as there's an opening I suppose I should be glad to have merited a spot, but it means I have to tell you the reason for my visit," he had to have seen Kaia's face pinch sourly, as he had quickly added "besides the pleasure of your company of course…"

"Well played Lou, well played" she had nodded with a somber face, before cracking a warm smile "What's up?"

"Bruce Wayne's 30th birthday is on Friday…" Kaia knew this, she was sure everyone in the city knew this, the numerous employees at Wayne Enterprises were being given a day off, a free day which Kaia had planned to spend with her Nona, curled up in bed and reading out loud from the harlequin romance novels that the older woman had loved so much. But something in Lou's expression had caused Kaia to think her plans were about to be changed. "Miranda Tate is hosting a party for him at the Plaza… and" he had pulled a cream colored envelope out of his coat pocket "You're coming…"

She did not even look at the envelope his was holding out to her before she had responded "Lou no." he stare held firm, "Their all share-holders, bigwigs… they need three forks to finish a meal…" he remained unmoved, so she had resorted to whining "please don't make me."

"I'm sorry darlin'" He had set the envelope on his desk when she hadn't taken it, clearly feeling the need to hurry to make it to his meeting with Oliver Queen "It's as good a place as any to get your feet wet, and uh… I may have already told my nephew he could escort you…"

That had been when Kaia had literally spluttered at the old man. "Your nephew? You set me up on a blind date with your nephew." She looked down at herself "do I just drip with desperation or something?"

"He's not that bad, he's a rising star a Queen Industries…"

"He could be my dream guy, Lou. I'm not…" she had started challenging him though he had already entered the elevator.

"Yes you are!... Let you know 'bout the other thing tomorrow."

"Other thing?" Kaia had asked to the closed door, before she had caught sight of the newspaper under her unwanted invite. Suddenly, recalling that Lucius had been on the verge of saying something to her before they were interrupted by his phone.

That same Wednesday night, or early Thursday morning really, the yelling in the hallway above her had gotten so bad that Kaia and her inner 'good citizen' had to get out of bed and check. Apparently Caitlyn's sultry voiced room-mate had not been home and as such was uncharacteristically not able to save her blonde friend. Kaia had peeked out of her door and straight up the stairs right by her doorway, from her second floor landing she could see that the door at the top of the stairs had been closed. 'Whoever the angry someone is, he's in there with her now…' Kaia's heart rate had picked up, she had grabbed her cell phone and slammed her own door shut , bounding up the steps, ignoring the voice that was telling her that good samaritans often got hurt or worse… "Open the door" Kaia pounded on the door "I'll call the cops!"

"Go ahead, this bitch stole from me!" a brutishly livid male voice shouted back.

"I…" Kaia could smell Mrs. Allen bustling up the stairs before she saw the older woman.

"With all that thumping, I thought you might have finally found a boy to wrap your legs around…" she had cheekily winked at Kaia, who had wondered whether something that screamed desperate had started leaking out of her over the past few days. In the meantime the older woman had brushed by Kaia towards the third floor door to take care of business. Her forceful voice and door pounding had put Kaia's to shame. A beet red man opened the door, he and Mrs. Allen had some words and in some lightning fast way Mrs. Allen had defensively pushed Kaia behind her on the landing and slammed the guy into the wall opposite the stairs' rickety railing. Needless to say the whimpering man ran off.

"Don't get why he was so mad, it was just 50 bucks in there…" Caitlyn's drippy voice had broken the ensuing silence,

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Mrs. Allen had asked, turning to face the short drowsy looking girl, as Kaia watched unsure what to do with herself. 'She's so tiny without shoes… has to be 5'4 if she shorter me…'

"I'm fine Mrs. A. Just drank too much….That's what I get for trying without Lena around. But thank you." She swayed in her doorway a little, blue eyes looking up at Kaia "both of you."

Kaia could not really get any sleep following Thursday's early morning drama, as such the rest of her Thursday had been frazzled to say the least. She had called Lucius to ask when he would be by, letting him know that her schedule was fairly packed after work. She would have called more, but she didn't want to jam up his voicemail with unimportant messages or disturb him, especially when his time was so tightly budgeted.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have missed her message and Kaia ended up running into Lucius on his way down to meet her just as she was heading out. "I'm sorry Lou, I'm running late, could you tell me over the phone or fit it into two minutes?" she asked as they had ridden the elevator back up.

"I…" he had drawn out the word, as his warm brown eyes skimmed over her face "Nah, this'll take time and a personal moment... I think we still have time, it can wait."

That had stopped Kaia in her tracks she turned to face the older man. "Lou, should I be worried?"

He shook his "No… I don't think so." He paused, considering something for a moment "Although, you haven't yelled at me about my nephew yet so maybe you should be worried…"

Kaia scoffed, moving to take the main elevator to the ground floor "Just a little off my game today…"

She was convinced it had been the kids that had killed her, as soon as she had gotten home she had showered and then slept as soundly as baby, that was until woke up to the sound of someone leaving her a voice message and realized that it was 6 pm on Friday. 'Crap!' Kaia had planned to wake up early to buy a cheap dress from anywhere, for the event at the Plaza, even a cheap, assembly-line dress would have been better than anything she already owned. Her clothes were comfy and plain, just as she liked them, but definitely not black=tie worthy. Kaia checked the time again, in the hopes that she had seen it wrong the first time 'Crap!' She knew it was a long-shot but she racked her brain and even went out to try to find any store that would be open so that she could find something to wear, though in Gotham most places had learned to shut their doors before sundown. After calling to check on Nona Milly, Kaia's main preoccupation was grumbling irritably as she searched in vain for an open clothing store. 'Grr, Lucius… grr…'

There was a message from a missed call early that evening that had been from a nice sounding man named Ben, who said that his Uncle Lucius had given him her number. He stated that both he and a car would be picking her up at the home address that Lucius had also helpfully provided him with at 9, he said was looking forward to meeting her. Listening to the voicemail she cringed as she entered her building, assessing the ramshackled walk-up and her own lack of preparedness for a high society anything 'If only he knew what a mess he was in for…' the message ended as she reached her door, '… should I just say I can't make it?' instead of opening her door Kaia simply leaned against it and hung her head "Shit."

"Hot date cancel or something?" A sweet, feminine voice surprised Kaia, who hadn't noticed Caitlyn sitting on steps by the third floor landing, watching her.

"Ah… Not exactly" Kaia huffed out a breath, needing someone to vent to she decide Caitlyn would be a fine temporary substitute for her Nona "…It's so teenager, but I have nothing to wear…"

"Teenager, huh?" Caitlyn stood up walking towards Kaia "How old are you?" Caitlyn asked so it was information is was born entitled to.

It urged Kaia to answer, as though she were obligated to "Um… 25?"

"Um… 25?" Caitlyn parroted disbelievingly, the way she moved and spoke with such confidence made Kaia feel small and even more demure.

"Well, I was born in December, so eventually I'll be 25 in this year, in a few months actually… so…"

"Hey," the blonde girl smiled "it's cool if you wanna be older be older," she nodded for Kaia to open her door when she reached the second floor landing. "Me? If I could, I'd be 22 forever…"

Kaia opened her door, figuring that there was no harm in doing so, 'at least we're out of the hall' "Is that how old you are?"

"I'm 23" Caitlyn replied, breezing into Kaia's one bedroom apartment without looking to Kaia for an invitation.

"Oh…" Kaia shut the door, trying to block out the flood of thoughts, though she could not completely hold them back. Caitlyn, at her younger age, had probably lived so much more life than anyone could know. She turned to about to ask 'Why 22?' when she was met with the sight of Caitlyn poking around her home.

"Where do you… oh, behind the door…" the small blond girl spoke as she moved comfortably around Kaia's home as though it were her own.

Kaia tugged at her sweater sleeves, from her place by the closed front door "Um…. Wh- what you doing?" she asked the girl, who she had barely exchanged more than a few lines of passing conversation with.

"Lena always says the perfect thing is always there, no need to buy something new…" Kaia approached the muffled voice behind her bedroom door "even in all this boring junk. Ah!... whoa!... wow!" the bedroom suddenly jerked open, startling Kaia. "Perfect!" Caitlyn held what she had found, triumphantly.

"That's a costume not a dress…."

Caitlyn pursed her pouty lips "I say it's a dress, and Lena and Mrs. Allen would too."

"I can't wear that… not to a black-tie event..."

"Why not?" Caitlyn frowned "that's the invite on the table isn't it? To the masquerade thing?"

"Masquerade?" Kaia spun around to read the invitation that she had only skimmed before, properly "this is all way too convenient…" she let out under breath.

"It's all too great!"

Kaia turned back to face a smiling Caitlyn "It probably won't fit, I wore when I was 17…"

"Try it first, we'll see…." Caitlyn stated firmly. 'First Lucius, now her…'

"Fine" Kaia grabbed the dress and marched to the bathroom to change.

Over her grumbling she heard Caitlyn's question through the door "No offense but how does someone with clothes like yours end up with clothes like that?"

"I told you it's not clothing, it's a costume." Kaia insisted, fondly rubbing the hidden red satin lining the inside of the dress.

"How do you end up with a costume like that?"

Kaia smiled, recalling the efforts of the one time she had convinced her mother to let her pursue interest in the dance focused applications of gymnastics. When she and her Nona had found the black tiered silk-satin, silk-organza gown in a thrift store they could barely believe it, it was perfect except for being floor length, they cut bottom two tiers, and with some help from Nona Milly's amazing sowing, they has raised the hem of the dress an entire inch without destroying the garment. Then came the masks. Kaia had needed two for her interpretations of Carmen… One of Carmen on fire with passion the red lining showed when she twirled and she wore a red mask to symbolize her desire, incorporating Maya Plisetskaya want from ballet, also watching enough flamenco and tango clips for emotion, to feel what it meant be a magnet, to draw in and be drawn in and move in directly in reaction to another person… and for Carmen in death she had a white mask, the pale eyes of have no to move with, to attract, just herself and subtle heartbreaking movements like those of Anna Pavalova, Ulyana Lopatkina and Alessandra Ferri.

The red eye mask was a paper mache one she had made herself, and it had fallen apart over the years, while the white and gold eye mask encrusted with pearl and silver had been around for decades, belonging to her Nona's mother and had been the impetus of the interpretative process for Kaia dance in terms of themes of vision and metamorphous. Kaia had studied various clips of ballet, designing and choreographing the performance herself. It had felt so wonderful, every time Kaia performed whether it was plain gymnastic or not, she knew what she was meant to be doing, where she was meant to be, on stage she knew her place exactly. And that night on stage her combination of powerful gymnastics, interpretive dance and ballet steeped movements and emotions had her Nona in tears, standing and clapping first with the rest of the audience for that particular show case following suit except for…

She shook her head not wanting to tell Caitlyn such a personal story Kaia simply responded "I used to be a gymnast…"

"Used to?" Caitlyn cut Kaia off from the other side of the door "You mean like Mrs. Allen _used_ to be a fighter?"

Even through the door Kaia could tell what Caitlyn meant, being a fighter had never really ever left Mrs. Allen's bones, even in her age worn body she retained that essential prowess "_I am_ a gymnast, and this costume was for a performance…"

"Oh…" Caitlyn's voice was suddenly right behind her, Kaia seemed have forgotten lock the bathroom door, though she was sure she had… "Wow!" Caitlyn grinned "Now say it won't fit!"

Kaia couldn't deny it fit perfectly despite the fact her chest and hips had changed. Suddenly the memory hit her "We had to clip and pin it, to keep it tight, we didn't wanna ruin the bodice." She looked her reflection in the bathroom mirror now her more womanly curves filled and held everything about the sweetheart neckline of the strapless dress comfortably in place, the hemline had crawled a little further up her thigh. She thought of her hair untied and flowing down her back, as she had stylized it for her dance "I should leave my hair…"

"Up." Caitlyn finished for her.

"Up?" Kaia's brown eyes widened, the back of this dress was acceptably for low for at floor length gown, but for anything other than a performance it was dangerously low, following a sweetheart cut to dip into a smooth, curved 'V' midway down her back.

"Yeah, trust me… anything but up and you'll like a kid at prom" Caitlyn sat Kaia down on a chair in the living room and in about five swoops she had Kaia's hair in relaxed wispy bun "you have any make up?"

"Um… In the bathroom" Kaia bit her lip watching the girl rustle through her things, wondering if she should object or thank her for what she was doing. She settled for asking "Why are you doing this for me?"

Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders, her back still to Kaia "The same reason, Lena helped me, and Mrs. Allen helped her and you tried to help me on Wednesday, I guess…" the girl spoke, examine the small stock of lipsticks Kaia had "Oh! I found your shoes, they're just behind your chair, now those must have a story…."

"Yeah…" 'they're reason I stopped at Carmen…' Kaia thoughts went on with the story in her head… After getting home her dance Kaia's mother had pulled her aside, making her daughter watch videos of herself after she had snapped her Achilles tendon. Though she never said it Kaia knew from that moment on that she was not the sole reason that her mother's career had failed. Kaia had watched the video of her mother, who's right heel constantly had to be at least four inches off the ground once the tendon had been reattached. The woman in the video was doing her routines in wedge heels, completing many of the basic moves without flaw "I figured if an ice skater could keep their balance on blades I could do the same in heels…" the older woman had said watching and laughing at younger herself. She only saw failure in how she was executing the moves, while Kaia saw only failure in the engineering of the shoe.

Before Kaia could tell her mother that with the right shoe the routines could be possible, the older woman had spoken "My point is Kaia, we all do stupid things, but those things have to come to an end eventually…" that had put a dead halt to Kaia's pursuit of dance as a part of her gymnastics career. However, it had not stopped her from saving all up her money and building the shoes in secret as a surprise for her mother. Her final theoretical design had needed the heel height of about five inches for the arch to be functional, for the grip to hold, the weight distribution to balance out and to look pretty awesome in her opinion. Not only did they look better in reality but they worked, were unendingly comfortable and with a one inch platform they add about 4 inches to her 5' 5'' height. Kaia was sure she was born to be 5' 9'' she felt powerful practicing in them, continuing to do so even when her mother refused to do so herself and asked Kaia not to. It wasn't the older women shared her fear of Kaia becoming injured as well, that the girl had stopped training in them… for the most part.

The short version she gave Caitlyn was that "I built my mum comfy shoes after she hurt her feet…"

"You built shoes?"

"I'm a faster learner," Kaia had nodded at the blonde girl, who was walking back from the bathroom, "And you know? In retrospect It was a good self-teaching exercise… Once you master making and cobbling shoes, the rest… building and fixing I mean, seems doable…"

Caitlyn held the three tubes and tissue she had retrieved from the bathroom up in her hand. "Red lips, gloss and mascara is what it'll have to be… I'd loan you something, but this is a good standalone…" she held out the tube of lipstick.

"That's my Nona's… she had a thing for always having red lips." 'Up 'til she…' Kaia shook her head "… I think it's a Italian thing…"

"I think it's a most people thing…" Caitlyn pursed her lips gesturing for Kaia to mimic her, dabbing then replying the red lipstick "Your Nona has good taste, even Lena would be impressed" she spoke swiping some gloss over Kaia painted lips, to keep the make-up from cracking "red matte, like a stain, it'll holds longer to your lips but usually won't stick where it shouldn't…" Kaia didn't miss the wicked smirk cross Caitlyn's mouth as she spoke. "Are you blushing?" She heard Caitlyn's voice ask when she shut her brown eyes, letting the girl put what felt like two coast of mascara on her upper lashes. "You totally are…" she heard Caitlyn's amused voice above her.

"I…" Kaia was about to open her eyes when Caitlyn stopped her.

"Let the mascara dry and please don't say you're a virgin." She could hear Caitlyn's voice move further away and the sound of the girl shuffling more things around in the bathroom.

'This has all suddenly gotten rather personal…' "I'm not…" 'maybe if I keep my eyes closed, this situation will disappear…'

"Then why are you blushing like one?" she heard, Caitlyn closer now.

"I'm not!" Kaia defended though she felt her skin beginning to burn with embarrassment, Caitlyn had taken her hand and was tugging at her fingers. "What are you doing?"

"Relax, let your lashes dry it's Just a little nail polish, nails kept so nice should have a change of pace too... Plus it matches your lipstick..."

Kaia sighed 'Red nails...' she had bought the polish years ago for day when she would feel bold enough to wear it, but that day had yet to arrive, though it seemed Caitlyn had found had now found a night for her to make it work "See! Things like that" '...lips and red...' "I jus… don't think about… it's just after my last boyfriend…" 'you mean your first…' she mentally corrected herself, "I mean how many one-stands can you take before… you know? You stop..." '_one nightstands_ Kaia? More like one nightstand, singular… just one and you felt like crap right away…' "I'm out of practice, I'm not like you I get nervous and…" Kaia went on rambling, breaking a little under the pressure of knowing that Caitlyn must have been thoroughly unimpressed by her romantic pursuits, or lack thereof.

"You can open your eyes now…" Caitlyn interrupted Kaia's ceaseless stream of words as she finished the nails on Kaia right hand. Kaia blinked up at the blonde girl before her, who was not looking at her with pity as she had expected but instead with understanding. She began speaking "When you look at me I'm not very special, I'm not the smartest thing in the world" she carried on over Kaia's attempt to interrupt "but if Lena taught me anything it was that I can make and shape myself" she nodded over to Kaia's ajar bedroom door "those clothes are plain but it isn't the clothes it's how you wear them that changes… I've gone from looking weak in a dress to looking like a knock out without changing a thing other than how I held myself. Peoples' expectations of you are things you can use in your favour being a weak woman, a smart woman, a decorative woman those are all roles, all cards that you can play and use against people who want to stick you in category…"

Kaia opened her mouth, not quite sure if she was getting where the conversation was going or if she was even sure how they had gotten there.

Caitlyn seemed to have caught Kaia's confusion "I just mean that you decide which category you belong to… you decide if you even want or need a category at all and outwardly you can shape yourself to be whatever you want people to see you as…"

Kaia looked at up at the blue-eyed girl torn between wanting to thank her again for what seemed to be intended as encouragement and telling her 'thanks, but I've already had enough Yodas in my life.'

The blonde shook her head, upon seeing Kaia's still unsure expression "Sorry. I guess I needed someone to pass that all stuff along to…"

"No problem…" Kaia smiled shaking anything to do with Yoda out of her mind "… least I could do after you got me ready for the night."

"Almost ready. Still got your left hand and a second coat" She lighted flicked at Kaia pierced but currently bare ear lobes, partially hidden by the loose tendrils of brown hair that escaped the otherwise secure up do. "Those diamond studs should work fine…"

"Studs?" Kaia asked, then a realization hit her "You mean the ones my Nono Joseph gave my Nona? The ones hidden at very back of the bottom draw of my dresser?" 'The ones which I now have to move…'

"You know on second thought, that mask is pretty busy… maybe you should stay bare…" Caitlyn pulled back, ignoring the accusatory tone of Kaia's question, humming as she tapped her finger against her chin "Especially with those shoes and that back, the hair dropping by your ears does what earrings are meant to do already anyway…"

Kaia was struggling not to burst under such heavy and blatant scrutiny, she frowned rubbing her naked ear lobe protectively with her yet to be painted fingers, as though the action would keep her Nona's earrings safe as well "What's that?"

Caitlyn lips curled into an impish smile "Draw attention to your neck."

* * *

**_Hope all is well. Sorry editing errors._**

**_If you're interested in how I pictured her outfit just go to my profile for an idea._**


	4. Chapter 4: Bling (Confession of a King)

_**Hi! Went through a stretch of really, really wanting there to be another movie in the works... still in that stretch. Sigh... long chapter.**_

_Chapter Four – Bling (Confession of a King)_

"… When I offer you survival

You say it's hard enough to live

Don't tell me that it's over

Stand up

Poor and tired, but more than this…"

– The Killers

* * *

The pearls looked lovely around that pale neck.

To any other eye in the room they could have been an ordinary string of pearls, but not to him. Even without the trace, even without Deuard's persistence on paying attention to detail… he would have recognized those pearls in a room filled with similar looking necklaces. He supposed that it was an odd item to have burned into his mind, not a typical item for a man to be so familiar with… which was probably why he had such an unobstructed view of them in a public space.

'Would I be here if not for those?' he exhaled sharply through his nose, leaning on cane that he held in his right hand. In his left was a full flute of champagne, 'No…'

Since his official return to Gotham a flood of invites, cameras and phone calls had come bursting at him. After crashing his car last week, one would think the public would want to let him rest, instead it seemed that the accident only fuelled the fire, people wanted to meet him before he did something reckless enough to disappear permanently. Were it not for Alfred's point that if he did not play the part of Bruce Wayne, especially with a Bat character popping up around city, that people would start to suspect, Bruce would definitely have been elsewhere doing things that would not bode well for the image of a care-free, billionaire playboy.

He had crashed his car, found a cane that was not difficult to fake a limp with and began work on his city. Tuesday he had gone into Wayne Tower, requiring a new mode of transportation, only to be met with no one. That morning Lucius had sent his apologies having had to cancel their meeting that morning for some important military contract briefing, but that afternoon Bruce found himself taking the elevator all the way down to the basement anyway.

Tuesday evening had gone much better than the day. He had found his leads, and figured out how to get around the city without breaking too many rooftops, cars or windows. He had broken a mugger's nose, cracked three ribs between two gangbangers beating up a man and stopped a car speeding around the city. But his range on foot was very limited and the criminal activity that he had interfered with barely scratched the surface of the deep well polluting his city, 'Small things first… you build Bruce…'

Wednesday had been a mixed bag of sorts, mostly as it happened to be the same night that the last of a huge shipment of narcotics was being dropped off at the Gotham docks. 'Theatricality and deception Bruce' his teacher's voice echoed in his head, grinning to himself Bruce wondered how Deuard would respond to his take on those particular tenants of the League of Shadows.

In any case it had worked, in that one night he had successfully caught a mob boss in the act of committing a felony, he had saved Rachel from an attempt on her life, and had delivered the manifests, the information he had collected in the past weeks, the leverage on Falcone's corrupt judge and given her the shock of her life. It had been a successful night, he had reminded himself of that fact as he followed Rachel home, as through her window he watched her wrap her arms around another man and smile as she ecstatically explained to Dent what had happened and how much Gotham would be changing.

His detour and tardiness had earned Alfred's disproval, late that evening Bruce had been scheduled to meet with a woman… Miranda Tate, who had taken the liberty of suggesting that whichever annual gala that was schedule for this week be combined with his birthday. When Alfred had approached him with her suggestion, Bruce had agreed only because the older man had said it would be a good way to get it done and over with as well as avoid having to throw a birthday celebration himself. That Wednesday he had arrived back just as Miranda and her party planners were about to leave the Palisades.

Alfred berated him for missing a meeting with such a lovely lady who was doing him such a kindness, to which Bruce had replied to with the fact that the only reason Miranda Tate was planning this party was to create a means of meeting him. Beyond the camouflage of arm and eye candy Bruce had made himself fairly inaccessible to those seeking serious entanglements business or otherwise. 'Though Ms. Tate is quite… hmm…' he mused, keeping his hazel eyes fixed on the cat-eared woman on the dance floor, in a dress designed to make men hiss.

At any rate he had promised to keep a one on one meeting with Miranda Tate for Thursday evening, asking for a moment to be excused to clear his schedule, even going so far as to hobble on his cane down the hallway while he was still in eyeshot of the accented Ms. Tate. He had opened the door to his study only to find the lights broken and a shadow of woman's figure with two blue eyes crouching on the window sill. "So that's Bruce Wayne up close" she spoke a throaty purr, before tumbling back out of the window and disappearing into the night. 'Oh the irony… keeping the streets safe and getting robbed myself…'

As the "Bat" he could have caught her, immobilized her before she leapt, he had known something was off upon opening the door. But he could not risk anyone knowing who he truly was… He had to be Bruce Wayne not the "Bat", and as Bruce Wayne he needed a cane to walk for the time being and other people to defend him , as Bruce Wayne all that he had time to do was open his mouth to speak before she was gone.

Bruce Wayne might also have raised the alarm… but having officers combing the grounds of Wayne Manor would probably not have been the best idea, especially with what was being constructed in more private parts of the house. Plus keeping the matter to himself gave him a chance to practice more with the software and databases that he had been developing and 'borrowing' for the past month.

After saying his goodbyes to Ms. Tate and giving the study a once over, he had found that along with his mother's pearls, his fingerprints had been stolen off of the safe 'something the police, would no doubt have missed…' , clearly the jewel thief had wanted what were guaranteed to be his prints. With a trace on the necklace , fenced or not, he knew that the pearls had not left the city and prioritizing called for him to track down the whereabouts of earlier shipments of the cargo that Falcone had been smuggling into the city. As such he had been sure to make certain that his Thursday evening meeting with Miranda Tate would be cut short.

He had okayed everything Miranda suggested, eventually just telling her that he trusted her vision for him. That had stopped her in her description of the event, her gaze had hit him hard and she dropped the façade of organizing an event just for the sake of throwing him a party, she had confessed that she was looking to move a nearly completed project to Wayne Enterprises and was trying to find someone with the gall to finish it… and with that confession Miranda Tate had moved up on the list of people Bruce could tolerate in high society, in Gotham even.

Nonetheless, that Thursday he was sure to get an 'emergency' call from the office which he could not ignore, and by the time the sun was rising that Friday morning he had found and surveyed the location that the cargo had been taken to in the Narrows. For Friday evening he had planned on 'being sick' for the party, without Rachel or Alfred being there he really had no reason to feel guilty for not attending. More than that, he was infinitely more interested in getting a closer look at the building that he had found. But those were plans for the night, for his dark friend...

By the time he had woken up it was 5 p.m. 'Time to find Selina Kyle…' that had been the name that had come up after some digging and tracing, first he followed the signal to her home, then he followed her and her grey-haired date to a late supper and before he knew it he had slipped quite late and unexpectedly into his own party at the Plaza. He had called earlier to say he'd been sick, so naturally people had muttered as he had walked in. 'Not a wearing tux… but still a passable suit for the occasion…' he look around at the attire of those already well into the party. 'Sort of… Did I really agree to a masquerade?'

"You don't enjoy these things do you, Mr. Wayne?" Miranda had smiled at him knowingly when she had noticed his arrival, just before she was asked to dance by an investment banker or millionaire or some such man.

Now, deciding enough time had gone by, Bruce he put his still full flute of champagne on an empty passing tray, left his cane against a wall and limped through the throngs of people towards the woman wearing his mother's pearls. "May I cut in?" He asked, though he was sure to pull the masked grey-haired man away from the cat ear adorned thief.

"Mr. Wayne. Of course..." the older man, and in all likelihood future robbery victim, reluctantly left his date and the dance floor.

"Now," Bruce pulled the masked burglar close "I think you have something of mine."

"Do I?" she asked, a coy smile had been planted on her lips since he had cut in, her voice was a sultry whisper.

Bruce nodded, his eyes not leaving hers as they swayed "Next time you steal something of sentimental value be sure not to wear it so publically…"

"Where's the thrill in that?"

"In success of it… though I suppose success isn't enough for you is it Ms. Selina Kyle, from a three-floor walk-up in Old Town, with a criminal record …" he stated, make sure to be clear on exactly how much he knew about her position.

Behind her black lace mask Selina rolled her eyes, apparently she was unconcerned with his keeping tabs on her "I'm not the one who plays detective instead of calling the police."

"I don't _play _detective, I _pay _detectives…" he made sure to cover his bases smoothly.

"How typical... You know I always find funny when you people talk about success…" she spoke as silkily as ever.

"You people?"

"You who inherit your wealth, your privilege… your entitlement…"

"Ouch, so quick to lump me in… you make me sound utterly pompous."

"Aren't you?"

"I suppose I am. But no more than a thief who flaunts what she stole in front those she stole from… then preaches about entitlement."

"Well" she sighed, cocking her head to one side "I'm a complicated girl."

"I would assume so… you are the sort of burglar who looms around their crime scene despite having already completed their offence …"

He felt her press against his body, she crane her neck to look up at him with a soft smirk "What can I say? I'm a curious girl too…"

"Curiosity killed the cat." He raised his hand up to the back of her neck.

She purred. "And satisfaction brought it back."

"Walked right into that one, didn't I?" Bruce smiled. Selina pouted as he unclasped the pearls from around her neck.

"You walked right into a lot of things, Mr. Wayne." She whispered, as quick as lightening pulling herself into a kiss against his lips, then whisking herself away. 'There goes my car' He didn't have to check to know that she had lifted his valet ticket 'Takes a thief to know one…' his years as a pauper Bhutan had not gone for naught. 'Alfred's going to love that… another car lost…'

"You scared her off…" Bruce heard, as Ms. Kyle's date took off in hot pursuit of her.

"I doubt it…" he muttered more to himself than anyone else. Bruce inhaled deeply, he had to pretend to limp back to his cane now, if the eyes in the room had not been watching him before, then that kiss would have guaranteed at least a few lingering gazes, if not gaping mouths. 'Definitely not finishing school behaviour… at least my bachelor persona will remain intact…'

With the pearls safely pocketed, Bruce began moving through the couples towards the edge of the dance floor, where he had left his cane, preoccupying himself with what he was planning to do for the rest of the night and trying avoid eye-contact with anyone in the room who was vying for his attention, when he was stopped in his tracks by an all too familiar burst of joyful laughter. 'That sort of elation is definitely not finishing school…' he turned back to the waltzing pairs of people, seeing a smooth back and flash of red that would have stood out anywhere.

* * *

Ben had arrived right on time, just after Caitlyn and Kaia had figured out how exactly she could take off and put on the mask for the party, tucking the string neatly against her brown hair so that it blended in. By the time Ben had made it up to her door, Caitlyn had left wishing Kaia a good night and offering tips should the brazenly red lipstick start fading. Kaia had enough time to make sure her Nona's earrings were still safe, switching their hiding spot to the pocket of an old raincoat hanging her closet. She grabbed her cream beaded clutch, the only other item her father had willed to her besides the money for school. Kaia was sure that it had belonged some relative that she had never met or another. It did not really go with her outfit and she was sure Caitlyn would cringe following all of the work she had done but it was all Kaia had for a formal venue.

'Your Nona's lipstick, Nona's earrings, great-Nona's mask… some random relative's bag… is there a nice thing that you own yourself?' she shook her head, knowing that all she had were the heirlooms that her Nona had given her, other than the earrings most of them were in a safe deposit box in the bank 'where I'll have to eventually move the earrings…'

When she had slipped on and tied up her warm, simple knee length black coat Kaia became very aware of how exposed her back was in the dress she wearing especially as the cool lining moved over her skin. Before she could convince herself to change there was a knock at the door and with her mask, invite, phone, emergency cash and id in already her cream clutch Kaia had rushed to greet the attractive nephew of her mentor.

After running out of weather and Lucius related things to talk about half way through their chauffeured ride to the Plaza, Kaia had had enough of staring out town car windows. Had they not been in a relatively private place and had there been more people around Kaia may not have tried, but something about what Caitlyn said pushed her now.

"So Queen Industries?" she put forward a semi-question sort of statement. 'Can't be more than 30 and already a 'rising star' must have some interesting stories…'

"Yes." Silence followed she watched as the streetlights illuminated then shaded his ebony skin. 'Now that's just uncooperative. I tried… ' as she watched him she thought Lucius 'and one more time for the peanut gallery…'

"Starting out at Queen for a corporate job… Kinda the black sheep in the family?" she tried again.

He finally turned to face her, for the first time since they had broken away to be awkwardly silent "You could say that…" he nodded, she took his smile as a cue that she was on the right track.

"So they hide you in a cupboard or something when company comes around?" Kaia returned his smile.

He chuckled "They used to, now they've got this shack out back…"

"Not out back yonder?!" she widened her light brown eyes in false recognition of such a place, hoping he'd play along.

"Yes. 'Yonder' you know it?"

'same feel as Lou… just younger…' Kaia thought to herself as she replied. "Yes, very well…" she nodded her tone utterly serious "right next to 'Far, Far Away' but just before Big Foot's old place…"

"Hasn't been the same since he left… you know the wife took the kids and the cows?"

That broke her, she had to laugh and Ben followed soon after.

"Thank goodness. For a second I thought humour may have skipped a generation…" Kaia grinned at the man next to her.

"No. It runs pretty steady through whole Fox family tree… funnily enough for a minute I thought I'd have to go back home to find a girl with a sense of humour."

"Grow them that way there, huh?"

"Something in the soil…" he offered with a shrug.

"Makes grass green and girls goofy…"

"Exactly…"

"So this goofy green grass, I'm guessing its home isn't in Gotham…"

"No, the fields around Star City are home for my side of the family now. Though I guess I made it official by being the first 'corporate Fox' to involve myself with Queen and not with Wayne…" he paused for a breath "Actually, I think Uncle Lucius was the last hold-out during the great Fox relocation about 30 years ago."

"I can see Lou that doing that…" Kaia smiled softly, thinking of the resilient, near trademark of Gotham that Lucius Fox represented for her.

"I can too…" Ben nodded "Uncle Lucius has always been one to stand his ground… what I can't see is why…" he turned to peer out at the passing landscape of Gotham, as though answer would manifest somewhere along the city skyline. However, the only thing that really stood out among the dilapidated buildings and orangey glow of city was Wayne Tower at the centre of it all.

Kaia felt an immediate urge to defend her city "I wouldn't let Gotham fool you. It's more than it seems."

Ben turned away from the window, a quizzical look on his face as he spoke to her "Is it?"

"Yes." She affirmed.

"Please enlighten me…"

"There's Gotham stadium…"

"So? Star City has two that size." He rallied back.

"There's Wayne Gardens…"

"Star City has Papp Museum."

They carried on for the rest of the ride, by the time had made it to the Plaza, Kaia was running low on wits and positives about the city.

"World's best hot chocolate!"

"World's best coffee."

"Um… " she chewed at the inside of her cheek.

"Oliver Queen." He went on.

"Hey, you skipped!"

Ben simply smiled, as their car joined the long line of cars queued up in the Plaza's driveway, all filled with guests waiting to get into the event "Fine! We have our own lost billionaire returned from the dead here too! So there… "

"The sun manages to reach Star City. The ocean is clean and blue. The garbage men don't forget their pickups. Some days you can hear birds sing…" he went on calm and smug as ever.

"We have a mutant bat creature roaming the streets!" she threw in as feeble attempt to stay in the game, though in all honesty Kaia was not sure in what possible light a bat creature could be seen in to be a positive.

"Wow," his tone humoured her "well I would say you win but I have something to trump it."

"Really? Something that could beat a gruesome bat-thing haunting the docks of Gotham?"

He nodded.

"I'm all ears."

Ben crooked his finger, for her to lean in so he could whisper this apparent secret. "The love of my life, Saskia, is in Star City."

It took a moment for Kaia to figure out what that meant exactly, but when she did "You win…" she couldn't help but smile. "Love of your life doesn't mind you going on blind dates?"

"Didn't get a chance to let Uncle Lucius know about her still being in my life. He saw I was making the trip and alone and connected a bunch of wrong dots…" Ben sighed, shaking his head as he moved back to sit up in his seat. "Saskia laughed when I told her… And it's not that you're not lovely, you are…" Kaia flinched at that, squirming a little in her seat as he continued "…it's just she knows she never has any reason to worry with me…"

Strangely enough, Kaia found herself filled with relief as she looked at the man who reminded her so much of Lou "Gosh, Ben. I guess I have to say phew. Not that you're not great either, but blind dates or any dates were never really my thing and if that pressure's off… Would you like to be friends?"

"I have no problem with that, Uncle Lucius says you're a wonderful one to have…"

"Well, I can't deny that… wouldn't be a very good friend if I called him a liar" she scoffed as a bellhop from the Plaza opened the backseat door on her side of the car. 'Out of a private space into the public' Kaia tried to swallow her nervousness, but couldn't keep it down as she stepped out of the car.

Kaia put her mask on in the lobby bathroom, in the same way Caitlyn had showed her to, behind her gold and crème her cover she gulped at her reflection before taking off the coat that she had been clinging to. She found Ben waiting outside in the lobby, his plain black eye mask already on, Kaia was sure she saw his eyes widened a little when he saw her, but he quickly composed himself "You look wonderful…" he smiled offering his right arm to her and taking her coat in the other.

"Thank you…" she felt odd taking that compliment "You're sort of dashing yourself…"

He grinned "Why thank you…" he had her coat to a coat check clerk, following a crowd of people and leading them into a decadent room, filled with gilded gold, chandeliers, marble and a soft caramel glow. There were elegantly covered chairs and fine white tablecloths on candlelit tables that could seat at least ten orientated around an empty black marble dance floor. She heard beautiful classical music, as she looked further into the beautiful room she saw that the music was coming from a modest sized string, wind and brass band at the far end of the hall, sitting on a white marble balcony the ran around the entire room. 'Not in Kansas anymore…' Her nearly open-mouthed gawking was cut short by the sound of a boy asking for her invitation, prompting Kaia to fumble around in her clutch for her invite.

"Rumour has it that Mr. Wayne won't be making it to his own event" Ben stated as they took their seats. "At least my city's long-lost billionaire showed up…" added with a smirk, nodding towards the severe looking bearded, blonde man a few tables away. She sniffed at her date, peering around the huge room looking for Lucius, just as waiters began serving… it was a three course meal and for her first glimpse of high society dining Kaia was not impressed. There was a choice between some type of green soup or duck pâté for starters, veal or liver for a main and some smelly looking compote thing on a wafer for the last…

"It's an acquired taste" Ben shrugged as she picked at the carrots at the edge of her plate. "Besides it's not really the food that the rich want…" he flicked at her flatware.

"Full dishes and silver plating…" she smiled, appreciating how Ben had the same effect on her as Lucius did in crowded rooms, truly making her feel as though she was not surrounded by intimidating groups of people.

By the time the dinner had ended it seemed that more people arrived for cocktails and dancing. "The one thing they do consistently manage to get right …" Ben handed her a glass of champagne, as an athlete Kaia had not really been one for late nights and drinking, as such her tolerance was not the greatest and on a basically empty stomach it may not have been the best idea to drink. Despite her argument Ben insisted, reminding her that this night would to be a night for her to mingle with business men and women... "liquid courage" he called it.

She allowed herself one drink before he took her to meet what she could only describe as a sea of very big people, who spoke very large talk. As the dance floor filled up and the music swelled, Kaia felt herself become small amongst the networking chatter and banter.

Simply saying quick hellos and fading into Ben's shadow, though he tried to include in conversations. If the alcohol was working on her lightweight disposition, Kaia was sure that it was only serving to make her more self-conscious as the party wore on. Eventually, Lucius with his grey hand held mask found Kaia, asking for a dance, which she gratefully agreed to. She finally breathed and let Lucius know about his nephew's girlfriend, he had huffed a breath, going on to ask about the rest of her Thursday and the bow and arrows.

"Bow?" a new voice broke into their discussion. Kaia had not noticed that the blonde masked man Ben had pointed to as Oliver Queen had been on the floor next to she and Lucius. The Star City heir stopped dancing with his partner urging Lucius to follow his lead to the edge of the dance floor.

"Yes" the older man stated, pulling Kaia along, apparently trying to force her to make this social connection no matter how many furtive pleading looks she shot his way. "Can I introduce Kaia Taftan?" Oliver nodded, briefly shaking her limp hand in greeting "She has been working on one for the past few months now…"

Kaia opened her mouth though she did not know what to say, unprepared for the sudden focus on her, Oliver Queen however spoke first "A bow that's an odd project considering today's technology."

"Um…" she looked at Lucius for help, but he simply nodded at her to continue "I suppose it's just that romanticism…"

The tall blonde man nodded behind his forest green mask "Much like the romanticism of a crumbling city?"

"Ah…" it may have been tactless but Kaia could not help but search for a means of escape, just as she was about to excuse herself to go to the bathroom Ben swooped to her rescue. Asking for a dance, then welcoming Kaia thanks after he had pulled her back out of the public forum.

He was not one for dancing, not the best lead, but there was one thing he did excel at as Kaia was soon to find out "Por un cabeza, I love this song…" she grinned at the first few bars of the familiar music.

"You know what they're playing?" Ben asked.

"When I was very into dance it was one my favourites…"

"You were a dancer?"

She nodded "Took two twirls and I was addicted…"

"Twirls huh?" Before she had even caught his smile he raised their arms and spun her, on reflex she lifted one of her feet as she was turned.

"Ben…" she had started to gasp, but before she could finish or plant her feet, he twirled her again twice. Kaia could not keep a laugh escaping by the last spin that was until she felt her dress lift up, Kaia pulled her hand out of Ben's and pushed the skirt of her dress down, she covered her red lips in shock though she was still finding it difficult to control her grin. "Ben…" she breathed harshly, taking a step towards him as he tried to hide his own smile.

"Sorry" he shrugged.

"Sorr…"

"Ms. Taftan…" a smooth voice interrupted her, she saw the surprised recognition in Ben's eyes as he looked past her shoulder. It was the same one she felt in her gut without even seeing the man speaking.

She pivoted, to see the one person in the room without a mask "Mr. Wayne…" Kaia responded to the all too handsome man standing in the middle of the dance floor.

He directed his gaze to Ben "I don't believe we've formally met, but I've heard a lot about you from your Uncle. Ben Fox, right? I'm Bruce Wayne." He held out his hand to Ben in greeting "I know it's the middle of song, I hope you won't mind if I steal your date for the rest of this dance…"

Ben shook Bruce's hand, glancing down at Kaia questioningly "Not unless she minds…"

"I…" Kaia paused, returning Ben's look.

"Great." Bruce must have taken the pause as an acceptance, because the next thing she knew she was pulled up against Gotham's Prince, finding that he definitely had no problem taking the lead.

Kaia resisted the urge to shiver, he was not holding her inappropriately by any means but he was holding her more closely than either Ben or Lucius had. They had kept her at arm's length, their hands on her waist. She could feel Bruce's fingers on the skin of her back and feel the heat of his body against hers. As Kaia placed her unsure hands on his broad shoulders she realized that she felt alone with him but once again not the same way as she had with Ben and Lucius, it was a different kind of warm, almost more private, more bare, nearly… 'intimate?'

After a few moments of thick silence, under the weight of his heavy hazel watch, with Kaia directing her eyes to the black shoulder of his suit she looked up at him. 'I have my chance…' They both chose the same time to speak, he stopped nodding for her to go first.

"You're not… I mean, you didn't come by and I wanted apologize for what I said… about the funds and … it wasn't my place…"

"Oh… I'd forgotten about it… I did drop by the office on Tuesday… I'll have to admit that I was rather disappointed to find no one there… even turned on the radio but it wasn't the same…" he grinned in joke "… the receptionist had no idea applied sciences even existed, but I guess it's a good thing you used your name when you called in…"

"You checked?" Kaia asked, surprised he would go through that effort.

He nodded, as though it had been the natural course of action "with good reason... you probably know as well as any that in a city like Gotham, not showing up to work usually means the worst… was everything all right?"

"Oh? Um... Yeah… it was just" she scrunched up her nose a little, wondering if she should, before deciding to finish "my Nona… had a spell."

His dark brow furrowed "Is she all right?"

"Um, yeah she's fine" 'Now…' Kaia thought to herself, wanting to change the subject to something that had been confusing her since they had starting moving around the dance floor "… How's your leg?"

"Healing…"

"Really?" she raised a brown eyebrow, after years of leg injuries Kaia could tell by the way that he stepped that he did not seem to be hurt at all.

"Really" his eyes skimmed over her partially hidden face.

She wondered why he would fake an injury, as she considered his unconcealed appearance for a moment "You know this is meant to be a masked ball, right?" she stated more than asked.

"These people came all this way to meet me, not some masked man."

"And that's not what you are?"

"I'm Bruce Wayne…"

"Are you?" she looked up at him, trying to make sense of the man she saw and the man he presented himself as, there was a low rumble that interrupted her thoughts.

A smile that lit up his eyes spread across his face, as Kaia felt a red heat run across her own 'Of course it would not be a meeting with Bruce Wayne without having an embarrassing thing happen…'

"Was that…?" he began to ask his tone utterly amused.

'Why does this keep happening?' she stared up at his grinning mouth when she noticed something else 'just be honest…' "Maybe if you served edible food…"

"You're really blaming me for your growling stomach?" he smiled as she felt his fingers tickle over more skin on her back, in what had to have been a deliberate movement, she noticed his eyes quickly dart to her painted lips before coming back up to her gaze 'How are we closer than before?…' "You don't have control over what you put in your mouth?" The song was drawing to a close. 'Oh that's so it… you're getting called!'

"No more than you do as it seems Mr. Wayne" she replied plainly.

"Bruce…" he corrected with a grin "and you mean my foot?"

"No Bruce. I don't…" the song ended and she tugged out of his strong grip "you might consider wiping that lipstick off your face…" with that Kaia pulled completely out of his warm hold and walked away.

* * *

_**Hope you liked it. Like knowing what people think :)**_


	5. Chapter 5: Sleeping Sickness

_**Thanks so much for the support! Chapters are probably gonna be more spread out after this one… apologies about any editing issues.**_

_Chapter Five – Sleeping Sickness_

"…And I'm afraid to sleep because of what haunts me

Such as living with the uncertainty

That I'll never find the words to say

Which would completely explain

Just how I'm breaking down…"

– City and Colour

* * *

After her less than polite snipe, Bruce Wayne left his own party, which filled Kaia with guilt to no end. It did not help her behaviour in such a setting that she couldn't concentrate and that she wanted to leave. Noticing the change in her Ben agreed to drop her home, wishing her a good night just as it had started pouring rain. As she wiped the night off of her face Kaia felt like a fake, a girl playing dress up 'red lips' she scoffed, burying herself under her blankets and only leaving the apartment to go to the gym, the entire time making sure to avoid running into Caitlyn. She didn't want to talk to anyone, a part from the one person that she knew would make her feel better… that time came Monday morning.

At first Kaia did not know how to bring up what was bothering her, so she simply filled her Nona in about her less than eventful weekend "I went to the gym… that really nice one. Remember with that balance beam I hated so much? Gosh! Do you remember how many times I fell off that thing, how many times I begged her not to make me do it again… 'we're not leaving 'til you try again Kaia'…" Kaia chuckled as she imitated her mother's voice. The older woman remained silent as Kaia began brushing her hair, "Nona…" Kaia bit her bottom lip before she finally let it out "… I don't know what I'm doing. You know how people don't think before they speak?" Her voice was quiet as she combed out the older woman's long silvery hair "I've been doing that more often lately… I feel as though I'm hurting people… a person," Kaia corrected herself "who doesn't deserve it… someone I barely know… it doesn't sit well with me… why I can't just say something and not feel so… so…" Kaia tried finding the right word, as she stopped combing and dropped her hands into her lap "… rotten?"

Nona Milly had not said anything nor moved or acknowledged what Kaia was saying but simply speaking to her Nona relieved Kaia more than anything else in the world could have, aside from Bruce Wayne himself telling her that she had not upset him.

'Uncle' Eddie's hot chocolates had come with a side of the most recent gossip around the city. Apparently the doozey for the weekend was that on Friday there had been multiple sightings in the Narrows of the 'Bat' on fire, but more than that all the sightings confirmed that the 'Bat' was not in fact a mutant creature but a man "A 'Bat-Man'…" 'Uncle' Eddie had raised his bushy eyebrows as he spoke to emphasize what he was saying.

The news of this character was everywhere 'it's been an odd few weeks for headlines…' Kaia thought to herself, as she passed newsstands with their updates and descriptions of 'the Batman', as he had been dubbed by countless papers. This individual, good or bad, seemed to have truly taken all the of the city's focus. 'Who would do that?... Why put yourself in such danger?... Why a Bat?' Kaia's mind had filled with incidental questions on her way to Wayne Tower, as she entered the elevator down to Applied Sciences, her stomach twisted in nervousness, what she had been trying to keep out of her head suddenly filled her mind. 'What will I say if he's here?'

Kaia's fear was, however, short-lived as when the door opened she saw no sign of anyone in the lighted basement. "Lou?" she called, walking towards his usually pristine desk. She placed the hot chocolate that she had gotten him down on his workspace, immediately knowing that Lucius had to have come in that morning, he would never have left his desk so untidy unless he was in a rush or needed the files to work on something. 'Must be in the lab…' Kaia thought of concrete side room connected to the basement, they rarely ever used it unless they were working on something chemical. Kaia had actually been planning on using it to work on some of her more dangerous arrowheads over the week. 'Great minds…' She hummed to herself, as she skimmed the files that Lou had pulled.

A flashing red light on the desk caught her attention, it was coming from the office phone and indicated messages. Kaia frowned 'Weird... people barely know we exist down here…' Suddenly the light began flashing at a different pace showing an incoming call, for some reason Lucius had turned off the ringer.

Kaia answered the phone, taking a seat in Lou's comfy chair "Hello, Applied Sciences…"

"Hello" a bright female voice spoke "I'm looking for Bruce Wayne."

"Um…" Kaia peered around the room to be as sure as she could be, before replying "I'm sorry he's not here."

"Oh…" the voice sounded disappointed. "I was told that Applied Sciences was his department."

"It is…" Kaia wondered about how much information she should reveal about the comings and goings of Bruce Wayne "it's just he has an odd schedule…" she reached across that desk for a pencil and a pad of yellow post-its "If you like I can pass along a message or you can leave your name and number I can let him know you called when he comes in." 'if… if he comes in…'

"No that's fine, I'll just try again later…"

"If you're…" the line went dead "sure…" Kaia sighed about to hang up the phone, when she realized that the voicemail light was still flashing. 'Might as well' she readjusted the height of the seat, shrugged off her jacket and dialed '1' then keyed in the general department password to check the messages, with her pencil and pad of post-its at the ready, although she soon found out that she did not need them. The only real message for the department had been left by Mr. Earle, CEO of the company, asking - no... demanding, to speak to Lucius as soon as he got in on Monday.

The rest were a string of messages mostly featuring female voices similar to the one that Kaia had just spoken to... Courtney, Kimberley, Sarah, even a John… and the list went on. They had filled up the voicemail box. Some were from other departments within the company, others had gotten the number from elsewhere… Kaia did not doubt that if they had clearance people would have been visiting instead of just leaving series of identical sounding messages for Bruce Wayne 'clearly he left an impression on that receptionist…'

Kaia understood now why Lucius had put the ringer on silent, over the course of checking the messages and clearing the voicemail box the phone had rung four separate times. 'Real subtle stalking…' Kaia shook her head, unable to keep a giggle from escaping her lips as she watched the red light blinking with a newly deposited voice message. She stretched her arms above her head, deciding that she should get to delivering Lou's hot chocolate.

"GOD DAMN IT!" she heard Lucius shout, angrier than she had ever heard him before.

Kaia's heart raced as images flashed through her mind depicting the worst of what could happen in a lab filled with any number of abrasive chemicals "LOU!" she practically screamed as she ran to the lab door on the west wall of the basement, punching in the access code as fast as she could Kaia bolted into the dimly lit room. She took a second to catch her breath, utterly relieved to see Lucius completely safe. He was admittedly frustrated, looking over a test tube that he had in his hand. "Lucius… " she walked towards him, he did not look up at her "you scared the crap out of me…" she tried, touching his arm "What's going on?"

The tension in his stance built up, before crumbling, he hung his head "I can't do this…" he nodded at the test tube before him. Kaia looked at the purple substance at the bottom of the tube.

"What is it?"

"A chemical administered by gas that I pulled from some blood…"

"You're doing blood work?"

"The good kind…" he nodded, then shook his head at the test tube "or the bad… I spent all night trying to isolating receptor compounds to find a way to counteract act the protein-based catalyst…"

"Protein?" Kaia face lined in confusion "You're working on a toxin?"

"A hallucinogen… but yes enough of a dose and…"

"And you said you pulled it from someone's blood?" Kaia asked, dumbfounded as her mentor nodded. "How much of a dose did they have?"

"Enough" Lou's voice was grim. "Today will be the third day since they were hit and if I don't figure this out..." he breathed deeply, holding the test tube in his hand closer "I have to figure this out…"

Kaia wrapped her fingers around Lucius' and the test tube "Lou… if you've been working all night you need to rest…" he shook his head, as she continued firmly "you can stay in the lab, but you need to sit aside… I'll work on it for now." She could see his resolve waning "You're the one who taught me that breaks and new eyes make a world of difference."

He huffed out a breath and nodded, moving to the side and filling in Kaia on all that she needed to know as she began work. 'Who could wait even day with this stuff before reaching out for help?' The more and more she uncovered about the increasingly nasty compound the more her stomach turned 'Who would design it?' Something in her brain clicked 'How many receptors interact…?' "Oh my moly!… that's it!" she looked over at Lucius who, being sleep deprived, had drifted off though he had tried to fight it.

'Don't want to get him up for no reason' Breathing as calmly as she could Kaia poured the antidote she had been working on for the past few hours into the malignant poison. A grin spread across her face "Lou! Lou! Wake up!"

"Wh- what is it?" he wiped the sleep from his eyes moving as fast as could to her side.

"It worked!" she beamed at the clear tube before her "Fast! It worked fast!"

"Yes!" Lucius clapped his hands, giving her a quick hug "Well done!" he began bustling around, asking about the specifics of the antidote she had manufactured to make a proper restorative dose, the joy on his face was undeniable. "Ok…" he was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. "One second…" he answered the call, leaving Kaia to wonder why Lou would take a call when he was so pressed for time.

"It's ready… worse?" Worry filled Lucius expression "What?! Ok Alfred, I'll figure it out… it'll be there."

'Alfred?' Kaia watched as Lucius ended the call with the person who must have required the antidote, he worked faster to finish making enough of the serum for an infected person "Kaia. What was that thing you drove in high-school?"

"Drove?..." Kaia asked, "Oh you mean my moped?" when Lucuis didn't correct her she went on "I don't think what the geek-pod did could be considered driving exactly… Why?"

"There been a pretty horrible crash on Robert Kane…"

"Robert Kane? …Robert Kane Bridge at the edge of the city? Why does that matter? It only leads to… to..." Kaia's brown eyes widened as her confusion faded away and a terrible realization dawned on her… "Lucius please don't say it…" she shook her head as though it would change the truth, but it didn't as he raised his gaze from the remedy for a moment to stare at her apologetically from across the lab. Kaia blinked a few times before regaining control of her mouth "call the police Lou! Tell them that the antidote needs to get to him… better yet have him helicoptered to a hosp…"

"We can't." Lucius stated simply as he continued jetting about, working on the antidote.

Kaia crossed her arms over chest, jutting out her chin as she asked "Why?"

He stopped rushing around once he had finally completely finished the antidote, so that he could give Kaia his full attention from the other side of the dimly lit room "Because…" as he looked at her Lou winced "I…" he sighed, tiredly rubbing the back of his neck "I tried telling you those times over last week… You would have figured it out eventually… with everything…" he gave a general encompassing gesture out to the whole room.

Kaia squinted as she tired making sense of him. She spoke slowly "Lucius… what is it?"

"It's Bruce Wayne" she could already see his next words coming "he's the Ba..."

"No! Lucius. No!" Kaia ripped off her lab coat and goggles, slammed on the table and stomped out the lab into the more brightly lit part of the basement. "Oh my god!" she muttered, a frenzy of thousands of thoughts raced through head as she ran her fingers back through her brown hair.

"Kaia" Lou's soft voice sounded behind her.

She closed her eyes not wanting to look at him "How could you do this? Did you think about your career? About my career? I mean you're knowingly engaging in criminal activity…" she cringed thinking of all the strange military files she had pulled and organized for her mentor "How could _he_ involve you in this? What happens when you're hauled off to prison? " she asked remembering the urgent message left for Lucius from Mr. Earle "What do I do then?" her mind became more muddled as she went on "Who would I get hot chocolate for? And talk to and make fun of and…"

"Kaia." She felt his hands on her arms "Calm down… breathe…" she could hear the sound of Lucius rhythmically inhaling and exhaling trying to get her follow suit.

Slowly her breathing calmed down "I- I think that was a minor panic attack…" Kaia collected herself, blinking her eyes open to see Lucius in front of her, he had dropped his arms to his side, there was a syringe and the finished antidote still clasped in his right hand. "But really Lucius?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a small show of uncertainty "I figure he's not trying wreck the city… I think he's trying to fix it in the way that it needs fixing… if that's criminal then I don't know what criminal is… I don't even officially know that it is him… but I do know that he will die if he doesn't get this…" Lucius held up the antidote.

Kaia gaze shifted between her weary mentor and the capped tube and syringe in his hand "Well…" she exhaled a shaky breath "I guess we're both about as knowledgeable as one other…" she held out her open hand, as Lucius returned her heavy smile.

* * *

'Crap. Crap. Crap…' had been the mantra playing in Kaia's head as she made her way to Wayne Manor on the single road that lead there. The only vehicles that ever crossed the bridge were those going to or coming from the sprawling Wayne Palisades, otherwise it was logging and mining semi-trucks travelling to the mills and plants that bordered the city. There were four lanes, normally they ran two lanes for each direction, but depending on the semi-truck traffic the direction of one of centre lanes changed.

This day the cab of a logging truck had collided with the back of another truck, skidding sideways then tipping on to its side blocking three of the lanes and causing closure of the bridge.

'Of course today of all days…' Kaia acerbically thought to herself as she took in the sight of the wreckage, though in all honesty, given the types of trucks crossing the bridge there were always usually a fair number of crashes that happened over the course of a year.

Most of the danger seemed to be cleared away and there were only a few cops on foot, with parked squad cars, patrolling the remaining debris, yet to be towed away… Kaia knew she had been lucky, if the bridge was usually more busy the cops would have been more attentive and the chances of her getting across, even at the speed she was going, would have been very slim. But as it stood, the bored officers were gathered around, talking as Kaia whizzed by as fast as she could.

'Motorcycles are nothing like mopeds Lou!' she felt like yelling at him at first, behind the helmet her teeth were clenched and she was surprised that her fingers hadn't shattered the handles. By the time she had made it to the gravelly front drive of Wayne Manor she could see why people enjoyed riding the bikes, but that did not stop her from slowing to a creep when the bike was on the gravel. 'Shove this…' shutting off the ignition, kicking out the stand and leaving the bike at the foot of the drive, Kaia decided that she would get there faster on foot.

An elderly white-haired man in a black suit was standing at the front door, waiting to greet her "Ms. Taftan?" he asked in a cockney accent.

Kaia nodded as she skidded to a halt before him "Kaia please… you must be Alfred" she swallowed catching her breath as she followed the briskly paced and clearly worried man down through the halls of the huge house.

"Yes, Miss…" they stopped outside two dark shiny wooden doors. Even from outside Kaia could hear the gut-wrenching sounds of moaning and whimpering… she waited for Alfred to open the door, when she realized that the older man's hand was frozen on the iron door handle. His glossy eyes were staring straight ahead, filled with the pain that he heard on the other side of door as though it was his own, did not take Kaia much to realize that even without seeing what was happening behind the door it was killing the older man.

"Alfred…" she spoke jolting him out of his stupor to look at her, "I can go in there myself, if you want to call Lucius and let him know that I made it here with all my limbs…"

Alfred pulled his shoulders back, stood up straight, set his jaw and nodded at Kaia, his expression was utterly grateful. As he began moving down the hall, Kaia took in a deep breath, opening the door to step into the shadowy bedroom. The curtains by the bed had been pulled shut, those by the door allowed light to show or at least outline most of what in the room.

Though there were many items to look at, Kaia could not move her brown gaze away from the moaning, squirming lump on the shaded bed at the other end of the room.

Gulping she approached the bed. She could hear his largely incoherent mumbles and cries. In the dull light she could see that his sweat had made his dark hair stringy and soaked through his t-shirt, the blankets were twisted around his writhing body, what struck her most was his face the emotions ran from intense fear to pain to sadness and back again. She could not help but think of her Nona Milly, she could not keep this man's pain from hitting her... hard.

Kaia quickly took the case holding the antidote out of her bag, preparing the injection as Bruce slipped into a rough patch of his hysteria. "Bruce" she tried getting hold of his clammy arm to give him the shot, but he snarled ripping his arm away, rolling to the middle of the bed to lie on his stomach. "Bruce, please…" she dumped her bag on the floor, having to crawl over the mattress to get to him.

He tucked his arms under his body, shaking and literally weeping in fear as she neared him. "They're afraid too. They're afraid too…" he repeated, mumbling into the sheets.

She had to blink back tears 'This is all too close' Kaia tried shaking her Nona out of her head, but she was not having any success 'way too close…'

"Bruce…" she reached out to touch him again, suddenly struck by a thought 'Nona…' instead of his body she drew her hand up to his hair, stroking it as she would do to calm her Nona during one of her episodes. Slowly she saw it working, his muscles relaxed a little 'gotta do it soon…' as fast as she was able she stuck the needle into his upper arm and managed to push the plunger down before he snapped into action.

He sat up, shaking her by the shoulders with a dizzying force "WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME!"

'Not his fault, not his fault…' she reminded herself, keeping her own fear at bay "Nothing bad. It'll help…it's safe," Kaia said thinking of what she would normally tell her Nona, "you're safe…"

His unseeing eyes frantically ran over her face, his chest heaved as he breathed deeply "Safe?" he spoke as though he was trying to recognize both the word and the feeling.

"Yes, Bruce. You're safe."

"Safe…" his shoulders slumped, she felt his hands slide an inch or two down her arms. His head tipped forward… then the rest of him followed. Kaia was barely able stay seated upright when his forehead pushed into the top of her shoulder, 'at least his breathing is even now…' Kaia tried to focus on the positives as she felt his hot breath fan down her skin.

"Ok big guy…" she grunted, pushing his sweat covered shoulders so that he could lie back.

She knelt over him for a moment. Him looking so tried and nearly broken 'The Batman…' Kaia was just about to crawl back off of the bed, when she felt his hand wrap around her forearm, she turned back to face him and his droopy gaze.

"Why do we fall?" he rasped.

She thought of how to answer, if she should even answer… her mind was filled with all of the times she had tumbled and fallen while training, she remembered her mother's words "To get back up again..." She curled her fingers around his forearm in a show of understanding. He gave a slight nod, his eyes finally flickering shut and his arm going heavy, she rested it on the bed. With a last look at the sleeping man 'there he is…' she thought despite being aware of his condition, she spoke with a grin, she saw him "… Bruce Wayne."

* * *

**_Hope you like this. And that you stick with me and my slowness, do have a plan… in my head it works, we'll see on paper :)_**


	6. Chapter 6: Houdini

**Hope you're all doing well, thanks for sticking with me. Sorry so long since update. Think this chapter is a bit… well, you'll see. And editing…**

_Chapter Six – Houdini_

"… What could come when we realize?

Some won't stop with the compromise

Can't stand when I disappear

Running around cause I'm filled with fear…"

– Foster the People

* * *

Kaia found Alfred walking back towards her just as she shut the door to the bedroom. The silence seemed to relieve the older man, who smiled as he approached her. "Mr. Fox was glad to hear of your safe arrival…"

She wasn't sure how to act now that the imminent danger had apparently passed '…or is hopefully at least in the process of passing.'

"I… That's grrr-eat. Um…" Kaia's light brown gaze slipped briefly back to the wooden doors. "I think between the injection and the exhaustion he sort of, ah, passed out …" moving her backpack between her hands looking anywhere but up at the weary old man "he should be ok now, but you'd better keep an eye on him incase… and so um, it's getting pretty late, I guess I'd better get going…"

The white-haired butler had listened patiently, responding with a seemingly prepared reply "Perhaps that's not the best idea," finally causing Kaia to face him, he carried on explaining "The wreck is still there and I doubt slipping past the police will so easy again…"

'Easy?' Kaia barely held back her scoff 'Should I show him the finger dents on the handlebars?'

Seeing no way around it "…I guess I'll be waiting then…" she muttered with a small sigh.

'Having only one immediately accessible road to a place has to be against a law or something… some sort of fire hazard…' she grumbled to herself.

"Actually" with a smile Alfred added to his earlier suggestion "I was hoping you would stay."

"Ah…" was all Kaia could manage, as she tried to detect whether or not he was being serious.

"I would feel better knowing you're close by incase something does happen…" his blue eyes flicked to the closed bedroom doors.

Now she was definitely nervous 'Pressure…' she wanted to grimace. "But… I mean you do know, I'm not a medical doctor, right?"

He nodded "Neither am I, but I've set some bones and healed injuries in my lifetime, that I know and can do… However, you know more about this chemical and it's affects than I ever could. And you can translate Mr. Fox, should we need to call him…"

Kaia tried to find a reason to not to agree to this plan 'Come on! It just needs to be a logical one…' despite the twinge in her gut that told her she should stay Kaia tried the best of the pathetic excuses that she could "I don't have any of my things."

Alfred determinedly responded "I should be able to rustle up something suitable for the person who saved Master Wayne's life."

'Oh wow…heavy…'

"That's stretching it a bit." she followed Alfred when he gestured for her to accompany him a little further down the softly lit hallway.

"I don't believe it is."

Kaia cleared her throat, uncomfortable with the direction of the discussion, she let her light brown eyes wander around the beautiful corridor of the beautiful house. A late question occurred to her, and though she felt awkward about asking for information she felt even more awkward the more she noticed the silence "you call him 'Master Wayne'?" she spoke her voice was so quiet she wasn't sure if he would be able to hear her, but soon enough Alfred nodded. "And he calls you?"

"Alfred." The older man stated simply.

"Right…" and the silence was back. The short walk down the hall seemed so much longer with all of the things in the house and the quiet echoes of footsteps.

He lead them to another pair of wooden doors, opening them and turning on the light to show room similar to Bruce's, though it was definitely less decorated, it was by no means less luxurious.

'Holy whoa… This is a guest room? My whole apartment could fit in here' Kaia tried not to gape.

"You can stay here, the sheets have been changed and there's a stock of toiletries in the adjoining bathroom," he pointed to a closed door to the right of the huge bed.

"Would you like some dinner? Or…"

Though she had not eaten since that morning, Kaia seemed to have lost her appetite over the course of the day "Actually I'm really tired. I think I'll just…" she nodded at the bed "ah … If that's all right?"

"That's quite alright. I think that Mrs. Wayne will have something..."

'Mrs.?' It took a moment for what he was saying to register, as he began walking towards the doors it hit her 'MRS. Wayne as in Bruce Wayne's deceased mother…'

"Alfred! Wait! Please don't…" he turned looking startled by Kaia's admittedly overly urgent call, "I'd be comfortable in just a t-shirt and pants."

"I don't know if we have anything else small…" He looked to be mulling over his options "Maybe… excuse me a moment…" Alfred walked back into the hall, heading in the opposite direction of Bruce's room. Hanging between staying where she was and following him. Kaia heard the sound of nearby door opening, a light switching on and then drawers opening and closing.

She felt as though she was spying, so she tried to focus on whatever else she could, other than Alfred's movements and worrying about Bruce's wellbeing, which was difficult.

Looking around the room saw something that made her heart skip a beat 'Holy moly… is that?' she walked towards the painting of ballerinas backstage hanging on the left wall 'It is… a Degas…' it was small, 'but still who leaves that just hanging in a guestroom?' Kaia could not help but think '… probably motion sensored or something…' she leaned in close to look at the detail her fingers involuntarily inching closer.

"Miss. Taftan." Alfred's voice back the door made Kaia stand board straight, the sense of being a child with their hand caught in a cookie had never been quite so real to her before. As she looked guiltily at the elderly man, who was wearing a good-natured smile on his face.

She thought of what he believed she had done for Bruce 'He'd probably let me paint over it at this point…'

He walked towards her holding in his hands two pieces of folded clothing, one grey on top of a navy plaid looking item. As Kaia took them he spoke "They're clean, but they've been sitting in the closet for some time" he watched as Kaia tugged the grey item of clothing free of it folded up state "they're Master Wayne's old clothes, well that is from his Princeton days as you can likely tell" he nodded at the ivy league t-shirt "… and those are from when he was much younger, I wish we had something better but Master Wayne rarely has guests" something wistfully flickered across the man's wrinkled face, he sighed "in any case that's all I've kept that could begin to fit you…"

Kaia shook her head "It's perfect Alfred. Thank you."

"Not at all. I'll leave you to it and wish you a good night…"

"You too."

With a slight bow before leaving the room, he shut the massive bedroom doors.

She looked down at the shirt she was holding out at arm's length, thinking of what… who it had touched she resolved "Guess I'll be keeping my bra on tonight…"

* * *

Kaia couldn't sleep. About an hour after Kaia had told Alfred she was not hungry her stomach had become distractingly annoying. It did not make it any easier that every five minutes since turning off the light and getting into the unnaturally comfortable bed, she felt a knot twist in her gut and was sure that she heard the sounds of Bruce in pain down the hall. Whenever she convinced herself the noise was just in her head, another jolt would come and she would have to listen again. She knew that if had just immediately fallen asleep the hunger would not have been an issue but as it stood it was almost 8 o'clock and her fear was making her empty stomach a problem.

If she couldn't make herself disturb Alfred for food she figured that the least she could do was try to put her mind at ease. Kaia kicked of her sheets, she followed the light at the bottom of the door out to the hallway, Alfred had left a few curtains in the hall open, allowing the glow of the moon to light her path to Bruce's door. Kaia had the urge to creep, walking around someone else's house without the owner present felt wrong somehow.

As she neared the bedroom there was no doubt in her mind that noises were coming from inside the room, without hesitation she opened the door and rushed inside, skidding to a stop when she realized that the noise was coming from Alfred. The older man was speaking in a low voice, sitting in a circle of yellow lamplight at Bruce's bedside.

"Miss. Taftan?" Alfred raised his head. Kaia saw that he was wearing glasses, he took them off as he stood up to meet her, holding a worn book in hands.

"I thought…" her brown eyes drifted to the bed, though he looked peaceful Kaia was itching to check on him properly "I…"

"Are you hungry?"

Kaia's gaze snapped back up to the white-haired British man. "How…?"

"In my profession you learn to recognize such things" he stated with a grin "I'll fix you something."

"No that's fine. If you just show me where to go. I'll make…"

"I insist…" he pushed as they exited the room.

Kaia could not help but turn back for a quick glance at the man sleeping restfully on the bed, "Shouldn't you stay with him?" she asked before Alfred closed the door and started on another path up the hall.

"If he's in trouble I'll know it."

Kaia looked the man in wonder as Alfred turned on some of the lights in each of the halls that they passed through leading them down stairs, that Kaia had seemed to have omitted from her memory when she had rushed to Bruce's bedside that afternoon. They went further into the house, through a stretch of dining room and into a back room that was the kitchen… perhaps the place Kaia had felt most comfortable since arriving at Wayne Manor. It was used and lived in and that had made the house less frighteningly huge.

Alfred turned on some of the lights dimly illuminating the room, putting his book on a wooden island in the middle of the kitchen and gesturing for her to sit on the timber stools under the legs of the island. "Now" he clasped his hands together "what can I make you?"

"Oh!" feeling rather stupid for not realizing that he would suggest making something after leading her there, Kaia remarked "I can…" she could tell he would not let her even propose making something herself again. She swallowed "Do you have um… fruits or…" the older man had already moved to open the refrigerator door, and was peering into the large compartment "um… or whatever you have ready is fine too…"

"Well, Miss. Taftan. I seem to have neglected the perishable items in the household during the time that Master Wayne has been taken ill… I do have this though…" he pulled a large glass container that seemed to be filled with something covered in pasta sauce out of the fridge.

Even though she could not see it quite clearly, the look of the food made Kaia's stomach clench with hunger.

"It looks great Alfred." He began pulling out a single plate, prompting Kaia to ask "Aren't you hungry too?"

"I…" he looked at the container of food "I suppose I am…" he took out another plate and cutting big portions of what Kaia deduced to be lasagna for both of them. "I haven't eaten since Master Wayne's illness…" he placed a plate in the microwave.

"Oh… Wow…" Kaia did not know where to look or what to say to that, but as she scanned the room the cover of the book on the island came to her notice, "Moby Dick?"

"What was that Miss. Taftan?" Alfred asked as he put the second plate of lasagna in the microwave.

"I wish you wouldn't…" she coughed as he turned and looked at her expectantly "ah, I wish you wouldn't call me 'Miss. Taftan' it's just ahem… it's so formal, I feel as though I'm trouble…"

'Not to mention it's so respectful and you're older, wiser… British-er than me…'

"My apologies if I made you feel at all uncomfortable… I could address you as Miss instead…" he took out two sets of knives, forks and napkins, placing them on the island.

"Um…"

'That's not much better… gonna have to pull out the big guns…'

"Maybe I could call in whatever weight that thing about me saving Mr. Wayne's life carries now…" She watched as he took out the second plate of lasagna "As a favour to me could you just call me Kaia, um please?"

The older man turned his face amused as he settled to sit across from Kaia. "You drive a hard bargain Miss…" his expression was filled with humour as he addressed her "but if you insist… I will call you by your first name. Quite a rare happening I must admit, but there it is…"

"Guess that makes me rather elite" Kaia scoffed before swallowing a forkful of her lasagna, her light brown eyes widened "this is delicious! How is there any leftover?" Kaia asked truly taken aback.

"With his lifestyle, Master Wayne has his own ideas about what constitutes a proper diet."

"R- right…" Kaia's moment of breaking away from the horrors of what had happened to Bruce Wayne was moved several steps back. Prodding at her suddenly unappetizing food Kaia tried shaking the torrent of thoughts out of her mind 'I feel as though I'm hurting people'… 'the 'Bat' on fire' … 'not in fact a mutant creature but a man'… 'trying to fix'… she saw the vulnerable terrified man twisted under his covers , her arm burned where he had grabbed her 'I'm Bruce Wayne.'

"Are you?" she muttered, angrily stabbing at the layered pasta.

"Beg your pardon?"

Realizing that she had slipped off Kaia felt no need to bring Alfred into her dark headspace, especially now that the white-haired man was eating and taking care of himself.

Resisting the urge to ask how he let Bruce do what he did, she instead hid her tracks "Moby Dick…" Kaia stated more clearly than before, nodding at the book by Alfred's plate.

Alfred nodded "Yes, I used to read to Master Wayne when he was a child."

"Not a usual bedtime story… Is it a favourite?"

"No… but I find it does the job of putting one to sleep."

"Being as boring as dirt..."

"Quite… rather effective for restless nights…" the older man's watery blue gaze filled with the deepest of time heavy emotions, Kaia had to look away, as Alfred went on "when he was a boy… during Master Wayne's horrible night terrors, and then when his par…"

Kaia dropped her fork as sudden chilling shiver ran up her spine 'What was…'

"NO! ALFRED!" Kaia was up and moving before Alfred even had time to react. Her breath seized the fear in his voice fell hard into her gut.

"Bruce…" she had burst into his dark room, barely aware of Alfred's footsteps echoing behind her. "Bruce…" the moving tumble of sheets was much more calm than when she first gotten to the Manor, but the terror in his voice was just as heart stopping. "Hey, hey…" Kaia whispered in the most soothing tone that she could muster as she neared the side of his bed, "Bruce…" she shakily reached a hand to his creased brow, stroking his hair worked before and she could only hope that it would again for what looked be a of more traditional nightmare… holding breath Kaia sat at the edge of his bed to try to quiet him.

"S- so dark…" he mumbled, calming down slightly as her relatively cool hands made contact with is heated flesh. "Disappearing…" he groaned his legs and arms twisted, his movements becoming more agitated. Kaia bit the inside of her lip, her worried brown eyes travelled over his pale, trembling form 'What do I do?' As if of its own accord the hand cooling his forehead moved down his cheek to his neck almost as though as she was tracing the path of the fire under his nightmare to its origin.

"Bruce…" she whispered, wanting to cry at the fearful pain curled menacingly through his expression. Somehow Kaia knew this was different, this was not her Nona's pain nor was it the manufactured fear induced by the compound. This was his. Bruce's own real night time fear. And she wanted to cry because she felt it gouge at her too.

"Gone… I'm gone…" he grounded out through his clenched teeth.

She shook her head , though he could not see with his eyes squeezed closed "No Bruce" she moved closer to him, finally finding the start point she had been searching for "see here" Kaia tried gripping one of his heavy arms to draw his hand over the spot where hers had landed.

He simply moaned his dark sweat drenched hair sticking to his head as he jerked his head "the black…"

She shut her eyes taking in a steadying inhale, "It is dark Bruce" she tried again feeling his heart thump against her palm "but I see you…" she felt him ease a little, his arm became less difficult to move. "Here…" Kaia opened her eyes as she placed his hand over hers pressed against his calming heart. She tried pulling hand out from beneath his but his fingers held fast , so she went on "See?" smiling as his breathing evened out, Kaia attempted to move her hand again.

"You" muttering as his weak body gave way to tiredness.

Kaia's smile had faltered, 'he was just repeating after you…' clearing her throat Kaia gently pried her hand away from his, moving towards the Alfred shaped shadow at the door. She stared up at the curious blue gaze of the older man her, catching her breath as she did and groping at the iron handle of the door once she had shut behind her. Following a few moments of silence Kaia commented "Timothy Dalton…"

Alfred's eyes widened in confusion at the abrupt statement "Beg your pardon?"

"The Living Daylights, License to Kill…'I'll do anything for a woman with a knife…'" she tried. "James Bond… as opposed to Moby Dick to feel better."

"Ah… I'm an Indiana Jones man myself…" a smile pulled at the butler's mouth.

"Never seen it…" Kaia admitted.

Now he really looked confused "Never seen Indiana Jones?"

* * *

'No… Kaia don't…' uselessly Kaia argued with herself. She did not want to wake up just yet, but the smell of bacon cooking and… 'bacon?' Kaia knew that she wasn't cooking bacon, she bolted up her light brown eyes popping open to scan the large room around her. All of it had come flooding back. Including how she had wound up asleep on a couch…

After confessing that she had never seen the Indiana Jones movies and given that she wasn't sure if she could fall asleep the pair had winded up in front of an intimidatingly large TV screen. Kaia had tried to stay awake, but half way through the third film she had fallen asleep.

'Criminally comfy couch…' she scowled. Kaia had wanted finish, the movies had been great and Alfred was wonderful person to see movies with, he knew exactly when to make funny comments.

She grinned wiping the sleep dust from her eyes, Alfred was nowhere to be seen but he had shut the blinds and given her a blanket, since waking her up to move would clearly not have fit with Alfred polite manner. Kaia yawned stretching her arms above her well rested head, 'Better go check on… _him_.' She sniggered at herself '_HIM_? Wanna be more melodramatic there?... though you're not the one running around in costume…' making herself focus Kaia was confronted with the less than funny downright scary parts of the whole experience. She still wanted nothing to do with Bruce's whole 'Bat-thing' enterprise but she couldn't help but wonder if anyone else could have been exposed to toxin and who could have it in them to administer such a nightmarish poison.

After folding the blanket, Kaia poked her head out of one of the arched entrances to room. In the daylight the halls of Wayne Manor were even more confusing, filled with so many more interesting details to see "Alfred…" she called through the large halls, unsure about shouting in such a large echoing space. Her bare feet against the checkered black and white marble of the floor already made her feel utterly out of place. Settling on following the smell of bacon as the safest bet Kaia found herself at an archway leading to the foyer 'wow… on the other side of the house.'

"Could it be anymore huge?" she let out under her breath craning her head back to look at the intricate carving on the trimming of the doorway as she walked through it. "Wow…"

"Oh!" A female voice spoke causing Kaia to stop and jolt her head back down. She recognized the sharply dressed woman that she saw standing in the middle of the foyer from the newspapers as the district attorney's main squeeze 'R… R… something' Kaia tried to remember the surprised woman's name "I didn't see you I- I'm…" the woman stuttered, her dark brown gaze fell to take in Kaia's attire. "Oh…"

Kaia looked down then back up at the woman, her eyes bulged and her mouth opened in a circle. She tugged the grey Princeton t-shirt away from her front, immediately missing its warm comfort close to her skin. "It- it's not…." She gestured to herself with her free hand, feeling her cheeks heat up "we're…" Kaia's eyes widened as she held out her hands and shook them "No! No! I mean…" as the woman eyed her skeptically, Kaia wanted to disappear "There's no w…"

"Rachel!" A familiar excited voice descending the stairs broke into Kaia fumbling monologue. 'Rachel! That's it!' She couldn't quite see him beyond the archway until he walked right past her scruffy form towards the put together woman in the foyer. 'Rachel. That's it.' Kaia repeated to herself, knowing that he might not have seen her standing there in the doorway, knowing that the important thing should have been his remarkable recovery, that he only looked as though he might have been partying a little too hard. Yet despite knowing, Kaia was unable to keep a pit from forming in her stomach as he had passed the arch.

"Bruce." Rachel smiled "Alfred went to see if you were up, he said that you were under the weather." She held out a small blue gift-wrapped package "I just wanted drop this…"

"You're not staying?" Bruce's voice was soft, his eyes fixed on the woman before him.

Feeling increasingly awkward Kaia had enough of shifting her feet, waiting for someone to notice her. 'Cue to go…'

Backing away slowly Kaia headed back to the entertainment room just as Rachel began speaking again "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your party. I…" there was the sound of a phone ringing as Kaia rounded the corner passing out of earshot. Her arm tingled 'Wipe that lipstick off your face…' the sarcastic thought should have made her feel better but it didn't.

* * *

**Hope to have another up soon.**

**Sorry about weirdness… gonna edit eventually.**


	7. Chapter 7: Funny Little Frog

**Sorry it's been so long, tried to write but you can't force things... Hope everyone's doing well! Thank you all for your support. Sorry editing still = :S Long chapter... On we go! **

_Chapter Seven – Funny Little Frog_

"…You're the funny little frog in my throat

I had a conversation with you at night

It's a little one sided

But that's alright…"

– Belle & Sebastian

* * *

"To get back up again" her words stuck, "To get back up again" her words and his father's … Bruce sighed picking up a charred piece of his father's house. Ras was gone, the Narrows were lost and he still had the mob to deal with, Falcone's absence would leave a vacuum. Bruce closed his eyes, inhaling, catching only the scent of smoke… his mother's pearls were still in the caves, all that was left was in the caves and her words… stuck warm and pulsing in the dark "I see you" with a exhale he opened his hazel eyes to see that he had crushed what he was holding to ash.

* * *

Kaia buried it all. Her anger at Lucius and Alfred and Bruce for letting this go on. If she pretended that she didn't know then, as far as she was concerned, everything was 'A'-freaking-okay. Alfred had found her after she had left the couple in the foyer, he had been frantic, shoving the phone that he had been clutching to her ear rather than explaining the situation himself. Lucius had been on the other end and within about two minutes of him stating the reason that Mr. Earle had urgently wanted to meet with him, Kaia had rushed out the door. Without changing and without much thought she got her keys from Alfred and raced back to the lab. The words 'missing prototype Microwave Emitter' playing over in her mind. 'My poor city' had been a close second.

It had been about three weeks since that horrible day. And a series of inexplicable things had happened since then. Somehow Bruce Wayne had managed to both burn down his house and get control of his majority share at Wayne Enterprises, meaning that Lou had managed to not only keep his job, but also get a promotion.

When she thought of that beautiful house the generations that built it, she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and pain for Bruce Wayne when she thought of all of that access to military materials and the mentality of a masked vigilante Kaia wanted to hide. Which was precisely what she had done for the past two weeks. She could only think of how disappointed crusaders like Dent would be in her type of citizen but she had vacation time and for the first since she had known him Kaia had no desire to be anywhere near Lucius Fox or any sort of gadgetry.

She wanted to be away but there was no way to afford that, so she settled for staying in her crummy apartment apart from her daily hospital visits. It was all exceedingly bleak the hospitals were overflowing and the transit system had been ruined… her city was a mess.

Other than visiting her Nona as much as she could Kaia had offered her services to help John for all that it was worth, while Ana and Clara coped with their families and troubles after the attack. The number of children at the recreation centre had dwindled, many had lived in the Narrows or had used that section of the train to get to the centre. A young boy named Richie had described it perfectly, which was to say that being in the class just made it all the more clear how much damage had been done. It was painful, like salt on a wound.

Kaia thanked whatever had been looking out for her, because she would have been able to stay away from work so long without some form of extra income. This particular gift had materialized as Kaia was unlocking the door to get into her apartment on the very day that she had decided that she had needed a break. She had just gotten back from the lab, still wearing Bruce Wayne's ivy league hand-me-downs, needless to say her nerves were shot and she had not been expecting a cool, seductive purr of a voice to suddenly break on the landing behind her.

All she had said was "Hello" and Kaia had dropped her keys. She had heard the voice before and knew where it was from, but she had never official met the person.

Selina Kyle was the epitome everything that Kaia was not 'I can see Mrs. Allen in there' Kaia had thought to herself once she picked up her keys and faced her other, more intimidating upstairs neighbour.

"Holly said you make shoes." Selina had spoken disaffectedly after scanning Kaia's unkempt appearance and introducing herself. Taking in from her neighbour's appearance Kaia could tell that the state of the Gotham had very little impact on her day. 'Clearly not under the city's pressure…'

"Holly?"

The statuesque woman shrugged "She likes Kaitlyn. I prefer Holly." Selina had answered, clearly referring to her blonde roommate.

"Oh" Kaia had nodded, accidentally dropping her keys again. "I'm sorry" she huffed picking up the keys "it's nice to meet you and everything…" Kaia had smiled at her "it's just been a long…"

"It'll just take a second…" somehow the end result was Kaia assessing that balsa wood be needed for the thinness of the heel and the weight she wanted on it. But her well put together neighbour insisted on metal.

"I like the sound…" she had purred.

Kaia had looked from the design of the shoes to the smirk on the woman's lips and tried not to grimace 'This is a sex thing, isn't it?'

Despite her reservations Kaia agreed to do the job. It would expensive and given that Ms. Kyle stressed the importance of comfort Kaia decided that the sole that she had designed for her mother's shoe would be best. All that really meant was that it would not only be expensive but time consuming as well. The perfect distraction.

In that respect the job had been effective for the past few weeks, especially as her days at the recreation centre had been bleak and 'Uncle' Eddie had taken to mentioning a new conspiracy every time she visited the diner, which had been nearly every evening after her visits to her Nona. He had joined the ranks of those who would not let go of the buzz surrounding all that had occurred.

The explosion, the train, the cult conspiracy theories, Wayne's destroyed belongings and the mysterious Batman, who was clearly not going to go away any time soon… the city babbled on and on about it until Kaia's head hurt.

There were more important things to discuss. She would think of the kids at the rec centre, people like John and the hospitals that could barely stay afloat. Particularly at moments such as this…

Kaia already had trouble with figuring out how she would get back into the swing of things. She had been deleting messages from Lucius for the past three weeks, she didn't want hear she was sure it would just muddle everything that she was trying to deal with up. He had stopped trying to contact her the day after she had taken her leave, apparently grasping that she needed her space.

Lately as though she had known something had gone wrong in the city Nona Milly had been calling for Roy. Normally she would be docile and frightened, but for the past few weeks she had been violent, exhausting Kaia and the understaffed nurses at the Gotham Home for the Elderly. After begging them not to throw her out or send her somewhere that Kaia could not afford, Kaia had convinced them to let Kaia stay with her Nona, as she was able to calm her down far better than anyone else.

It wasn't until late that afternoon, following a long bad Thursday at the hospital with her Nona, when Kaia had entered her apartment checking her phone to see that Ben had called. Only then did she check her voice messages.

"I asked Uncle Lucius to get back to me once he asked you but he hasn't yet. Just give me a call by 5 tonight let me know if you're in or out for tomorrow"

'In or out for what?' she had hoped Ben would elaborate but he just repeated his number. She tried calling but was didn't pick directed straight to voicemail.

She didn't want to leave a message for Ben without knowing what he had been referring to especially if she couldn't get a hold of him with the 5 o'cloak deadline so near and he needed an answer right away… 'There you go Kaia, typical genius move…' she shook her head at her cellphone, thinking of the messages that she had gotten rid of '… I'll have to call Lou.' Kaia tried to push aside her dread as she dialed and listen to the phone ring.

"Kaia?" Lou voice answer sounded almost relieved. "How are you?"

"Yeah, hi. So I got a call from Ben..." she tried keeping her tone as removed as possible.

There was a small pause as he seemed to work out what she was talking about "Didn't you get my messages?" His voice less cordial now.

"I sort of deleted them..." she winced.

"Kaia..." she heard his disappointment as he tsked at her. "I know we had our differences but not checking your messages, especially with the material we handle in this field..."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry all right?" she shamefully prodded her gym bag on her apartment floor with her foot. "It sounded urgent so…"

"Right… well it seems Oliver Queen want to meet with you…"

"Me?"

"Yeah… the work you're doing really piqued his interest."

"The work I'm doing?"

"Yes Kaia." Lou sighed, clearly not appreciating her parroting "I know you want to be left alone, but Ben said that Queen asked for you specifically, it's a really great networking opportunity. I'm not to let you waste this chance for your career because our personal issues…" his tone was one of a paternal sort of authority.

"Actually you're forcing me?" She asked in disbelief.

"Despite what you may think of me Kaia, I care about you and what happen to you, including your career… so yes, in short I'm forcing you to go."

Rubbing the tension in her forehead out as she listened to Lou's voice, Kaia couldn't ignore the underlying sweetness and truth of what he was saying "Thanks…" she huffed.

'For Ben…' Kaia thought reluctantly as she found a pen and a scrap of paper, 'I don't want him looking bad 'cause of me…'

When Lucius gave her the name of the place she nearly dropped her pen. It was the most expensive and elite restaurant in Gotham, Kaia cringed as she tried to not think of how painful it would be to her dwindling back account 'Maybe if I just keep ordering water…' Kaia rolled her light brown eyes as she thought wryly 'I'll drown and they'll comp the meal…'

"I know that times are tight, Wayne Enterprise will take care of the bill…" Kaia opened her mouth to refuse the offer, but Lou beat her to it "…and don't you dare say you won't take the meal, it's technically a business expense." Lou spoke seeming to read her mind.

Not knowing what else to say she simply replied "Ok."

"All right then. I'll let Ben know…" Lucius offered, "I was nice hearing from you Kaia."

A panic overtook her as she realized he was about to hang up "Lou!"

"Huh?" he asked.

After a small pause, in a quiet, honestly voice she mumbled "I care about you too…" Though she was still upset with him Kaia didn't want Lou think that she wanted him out of her life. "I just…"

"I get it, Kaia. Believe me." She heard him huff out a breath, "I understand, it's… it's…"

"Reckless…" Kaia finished for him with her own take on what Wayne was doing.

"Maybe…" he offered sounding weary. "I'll see you in the office next week?" Lou asked.

"That's the plan…" Kaia replied a bittersweet feeling hit her as she did.

After saying their good-byes Kaia's eyes roamed her apartment, a whole new problem struck her when she saw her closet through her open bedroom door 'Damn it!' She moaned pressing her palms against her closed eyes, "Why do I have no clothes?" she asked herself out loud. A series of reasons flashed through her mind 'Oh right, 'cause I have no money and usually have nowhere to go…' taking in a deep breath, Kaia opened her eyes trying to think of what she could wrestle up for appropriate formal attire for a dinner. The dress she wore to Bruce's birthday was definitely not sit down dinner material 'too short, too backless…'

Hopelessly scanning her apartment again, her gaze stuck on the tiny storage cupboard built into the wall, partial hidden by her couch. 'Maybe…' she racked her brain trying to remember what exactly she kept in there. Most of it were mementos and clothing that had belonged to her Nona. Over the years Nona Milly had steadily gotten rid of things that she no longer need, keeping only what mattered to her most and what she was truly fond of… the result was about four cardboard boxes filled with items left to Kaia, who could not make herself throw any of it out. No matter how inconvenient, they had been important to her Nona. She had lugged them around to every place she had lived, storing them away and usually forgetting about them until she had to move again.

But now as she looked at the cupboard Kaia thought of the lipstick she had worn to the Plaza 'Nona helped then, maybe she can help again…' However before she could get to moving her couch her phone rang, and a very tired sounding nurse from the home informed Kaia had she could handle both her aggravated Nona as well as the entire floor.

"Thanks for calling me, I'll be right there." With a sigh, and a quick longing glance towards the bathroom shower Kaia checked the time and grabbed her bag to go catch her train.

* * *

Kaia moaned happily as she snuggled at her pillow. She could feel the ache in her head easing away as someone rubbed her head.

'Huh?' waking with a start, Kaia realized that it was her Nona stroking hair and happily. She fallen asleep in a chair next to the older woman's bed. Returning her smile Kaia greeted her Nona "Good…" she looked at the clock on the wall "morning…" she tried not to groan.

'7 A. M… 4 hours of sleep. Score!' she thought sourly to herself.

She took her mind off her drowsiness instead focusing on how coherent her Nona Milly seemed to be this morning. The older woman rubbed her knuckle under her own left eye, usually it was her way for pointing out how tired Kaia looked.

"Gee. Thanks Nona…" Kaia scoffed, pretending to be offended. Watching as her silver haired grandma clicked her finger in the direction of the door. Yet another signal, this one typical meaning that Kaia should get going.

"That eager to see me go huh?"

Her Nona's head shook as she rubbed her knuckle under Kaia's eye this time. She looked affectionately at the older woman, thinking of the boxes in storage 'No need to disturb her things…' she decided.

"Don't worry Nona. I'm fine… though I probably should get going…" Kaia thought of how she had planned to spend her day off from the rec centre going to the gym and resting, but now it seemed she had to go formal-wear hunting. 'Awesome…' Kaia barely repressed her cringe as she thought once more of the steadily falling numbers in her bank account.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL KAIA!" she shouted at herself, "Again? Really?" Kaia scolded as she sat up on her bed. She had gotten back from the Elder's Home while was still very early. Trying to think ahead Kaia had decided to take a shower, shave her legs and underarms to get that business out of the way. While she waited for her hair to dry and the shops to open she had fallen asleep. 'So stupid' she wanted to hit herself over the head. It was about quarter to seven, and dinner was eight, meaning that she only had an hour before Ben arrived.

Rushing to the cupboard she prayed there was something suitable, that would fit her 'Sorry Nona…' she bit her lips as she sat on the ground and rifled through a box, 'this is way too convenient…' she acknowledged as she went picking through her grandmother's personal things. 'Oh my gosh… these are the most…' shaking her head, trying not to get distracted by the beautiful items, she grabbed what looked to be a red dress with some metallic threading, something wrapped in tissue paper fell out of it on to the ground.

'A bustle…' she eyed the knee length, strapless dress 'Must have been mum's…' the outfit looked to be a little too new to be her Nona's, she thought as she picked up the tissue wrapped object. Though she had only gone partially through one box Kaia panicked when she had glanced at the time, figuring she could do worse than a red dress for a fancy restaurant and Oliver Queen.

'Oliver Queen!' her mind stuck on that insane reality check for a moment, "Get up Kaia!" she gritted out forcing herself to move. As she moved to the bathroom she was glad to see that her brown hair had curled slightly when it dried, quickly running some anti-frizz gel through her it she wonder what she should put on her face. Settling on eyeliner and a light dabbing of her Nona's lipstick Kaia looked at the time on her phone again 'How is it already 20 past?'

Quickly ironing then pulling her Nona's or more likely her mum's dress on, Kaia was relieved to see that it fit in the ways that mattered. 'Not much of a gap' she noticed a she fasten the hooks on the left side of the bodice, 'I'll just keep my arms down…' she went to the bathroom mirror, watching the sweetheart neckline as she tested her movements to make sure that nothing would slip out. 'Very cool…' her light brown eyes dropped to the tissue wrapped item that she had left on the counter by the sink.

Gently unwrapping it a smile pulled at Kaia's lips 'This has to be Nona's…' she looked at the delicate hair comb that she now held in her hands.

It was silver, a figure eight of clear stones acting as a bed for two clusters of red stones shaped like leaves in the empty spaces of the eight. Looking up at her reflection over the sink, Kaia slow pushed the comb into her long brown hair, pulling her hair away from the right side of her face. Turning her head from side to side she approved of the asymmetrical effect and went back to being in a rush. 'Same shoes and bag…' she pointed out the obvious to herself… obvious because she only had one of each of those items. Tapping her nude nails against her temple she tried to think of what she was forgetting, 'not my phone, not my coat…' it came to her just as there was knock at the door 'Deodorant!' with a fast brush of her underarms and a spritz of perfume she threw on her jacket and raced to the door.

* * *

She tried grilling Ben on what Oliver Queen wanted with her exactly, but had gotten nowhere. On the car ride all she had found out was that Ben's fiancé was visiting and was meeting them for dinner at the restaurant.

Now as she sat across from Mr. Queen himself, she was not thinking 'Oliver Queen! Oliver Queen!' rather she all that was running through her mind was 'Saskia Morton!'

Ben's fiancé, as it turned out was the prima ballerina for the renowned Star City ballet company, 'Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!'

"Ben you jerk!" she had hissed when he had pointed out his slim, red-haired Saskia. "You could have warned me…" Kaia hurriedly flattened her hands over her dress and fought the instinct to fidget with her hair.

Luckily, as it turned out, Saskia was as easygoing and funny as Ben and Lou. Halfway through eating the most expensive salad that she had ever had, which also happened to be the cheapest item on a menu filled with foods that she could barely pronounce, Kaia was able to relax a little. The poised ballerina had been quite good at calming a star struck Kaia.

Oliver Queen on the other hand… every time Kaia looked across the table at his severe green eyes she felt unnerved. 'Why does he look like he's trying to figure something out? I'm certainly not that interesting.'

In the back of her mind she nervously wondered if he somehow knew about her 'involvement' with Bruce Wayne… that worry had nagged at her mind for about a week after the attack, Kaia was sure that everyone she spoke with somehow knew the secret, but over time the fear faded as she realized that Bruce had directed media in an ideal direction with his 'philandering bachelor, playboy' lifestyle… ordinary people would not have the resources to jump to the true conclusion…

'If they only knew how far from pleasant his nightlife actually is…'she tried to forget the needless torture Bruce had gone through on that anxiety ridden night and the fact that billionaire Oliver Queen was not exactly an ordinary person.

Saskia had been telling a story about Ben's first time meeting her "You have to understand, I didn't meet for months, but I saw him lurking…"

"Lurking?" Kaia asked with a small smile, looking at Ben in time to see him embarrassedly hide his eyes with his hands.

She turned back to Saskia, who carried on "It was sort of adorable though… he always looked so nervous, whenever he tried to pretend he was just leaving or getting into his apartment… that it was just coincidence that we kept passing each other in the hall…"

"It was coincidence…" Ben raised his head to look at his fiancé sitting opposite him, "just helped along a little …" the way he was smiling at Saskia actually made Kaia feel happy too. She felt like a teen girl cheering on the lead couple in a movie… that was until she caught Queen's gaze across the table again.

The conversation had died down as the meal ended around 9:30 and both Ben and Saskia excused themselves for Saskia early rehearsal the next morning. Kaia watched utterly unnerved as Ben stood up to leave, 'this is not what I signed up for…' she had practically broken Ben's hand as she shook it "Deserter…" she whispered when she kissed his cheek and then wished the couple a goodnight.

Once they had left she braced herself turning back to face her remaining dinner guest, it had not escaped her noticed that they had yet to broach the reason for this whole meeting in the first place. Attempting to act as much like an adult as she could in the awkward silence, Kaia began to ask "So Mr. Queen…"

"Oliver." The blonde man corrected sharply.

"Right…" Kaia went on, trying not to shirking into her seat "So was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss? Ben didn't seem to know and Lou… ah, Lucius, only said it was about my work."

She finished just as a waiter showed up was an extremely expensive looking bottle of wine that Kaia had never heard of before. "Compliments of Mr. Wayne…" their waiter bowed his head pouring them two glasses of the golden wine.

"Thank you." Oliver stated, while Kaia surreptitiously looked around at the tables nearby in the large busy restaurant.

Her heart had suddenly started pounding in her throat 'where is he?' she looked but did not see the face she was searching for. 'Maybe he left or wasn't here and just knew this was where Mr. Queen was having dinner…' she breathed in a calming inhale through her nose.

Taking a sip of his wine Oliver drew back Kaia's attention as he went on explaining "I'm just interested…" though his tone was cold, something about how he said it made Kaia believe that he was being sincere.

"Not to be um, rude…" she nervously bit the inside of her cheek, looking at the intimidating man before her "but, why?"

"I suppose it's that what you do is so unique… with all those patents under the Wayne umbrella, you can be fairly certain that no one else is working on what you are …" he put down his wine glass, his green eyes lifting to pointedly ask her "Are they?"

"Ahh…" Kaia was still large confused as to why he wanted to know about her work in particular of all the patented work in the world. She wondered if she should be telling him again at all…

'Lou okayed it… I guess the less heavy-duty stuff would be all right to discuss…' she reasoned.

"Yeah… I guess it's just me tinkering away… to be honest other than you no one, not even Lucius is as taken in by the material I work with…" she shrugged at him truthfully "I guess that why I'm just a little struck… not many people flock to shelved projects…"

"I'm an odd bird that way… " He smiled and his whole face changed and opened up, Kaia suddenly felt the peculiar tone of the conversation lift slightly.

'Wow… but not as swoony as…' Kaia stopped the thought there.

Going on to telling him of the less top-secret or inflammatory projects… though she still tried to remain as vague as possible. The general information guns, armor, climbing gear, bow and arrows.

He had nodded along, though the elusive smile had not returned.

By 10:30 Kaia had not touched her wine and had run out of suitable items to discuss. Queen also seemed ready to call it a night, he had excused himself to take a call and returned with the bad news that one of the half-way houses that he had been funding in Star City had a permit fall through... , with the time difference he would have to catch the next available flight out to arrive in his home town before the courts closed. 'No personal plane…' Kaia was taken in by his evident hands on and public approach to helping the people of his city.

Though she tried, Oliver insisted on paying… as they moved through the tables towards the exit, there was a tap on her shoulder.

"Pardon me, sir, madam" a waiter address both Oliver and she respectively, "but Mr. Wayne had asked for you to join his party…"

'He's here? Where?…' Kaia could not keep her light brown eyes from roaming the room filled with dining people, she nervously wrung her hands around her beaded bag.

"Bruce?" Oliver asked, "Unfortunately we're just leaving, though I suppose I should thank him for the wine…" his eyes quickly went to his wrist watch.

"Go…" Kaia gave her companion a tight-lipped smile, as she could hardly believe the next words out of her mouth "I'll pass along the thank yous…"

"Are you sure?"

Nodding Kaia watched the relief run through Queen's expression 'there's another smile… sort of…'

"Thank you. It was very nice getting to know you Ms. Taftan." He clasped her free hand in his as he said his goodbye. "I hope to keep in touch…"

"Kaia…" she offered her first name, "And likewise. Have a safe flight. I hope everything works out…"

With that they went their separate ways, Kaia followed the waiter to a particular table in a sea of tables.

"Mr. Wayne…" the waiter announced, as they neared a table seating two women and two men, she recognized three of them, the second woman had her back to Kaia.

Her heart started thudding as a new star struck feeling hit her 'Harvey Dent. No way is that… It is… Oh my gosh! Harvey Dent!' The woman, his girlfriend… 'Rachel' was also there. Kaia smiled at her hoping that she had either forgotten or that the gesture would erase their first awkward meeting at what had formerly been Wayne Manor.

"Ah! Ms…" Bruce gave her a toothy disingenuous smile, raising his arms in greeting and standing briefly out of his seat to shake hand in greeting, acting as though he hadn't a care in the world.

"Taftan." She bit out, still unimpressed with Wayne and his whole approach to her city. Desperately trying to ignore the tingling feeling that was slowly creeping up her hand and wrist.

"Right Ms. Taftan… if I'm not careful Queen Industries will sneak her away, she's the star of the archives department…"

"Applied sciences…" she corrected, coldly, not enjoying the forgetful act that he was putting on for his dinner companions.

"Right, right" he brushed of lightly, smiling up at her from his seat. "Can I introduce my oldest friend Rachel Dawes…"

"We've met…" Rachel smiled and nodded at Kaia in recognition.

"Really?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at Kaia before going on with introductions 'Maybe he actually didn't see me that day…' her mind drifted for a moment, as he turned to the striking woman who had been facing away from her "This is Miranda Tate…"

Kaia's eyes widening, she may not have known what she had looked like, but she had definitely heard of the name Miranda Tate… 'The Miranda Tate…' the elegant French woman greeted Kaia kindly before Bruce got to the man that Kaia saw as Gotham's hope.

"And no doubt you've heard of Harvey Dent…" Bruce gestured to the district attorney sitting across from him.

"Wow…" Kaia muttered her light brown gaze stuck on the white knight of Gotham. As she saw an smile spread across his lips, Kaia's eye opened wider in horror 'did I say that out loud?'

"Looks like you have a fan Harvey." Bruce chimed in clearly as amused as Dent was "Better watch out there Rachel…"

"She's got nothing to worry about on that front…" the DA gave Bruce an almost defensive smile, reaching for Rachel's hand resting on the table top. "No offense," his blue eyes lifted to Kaia.

"None taken" Kaia shook her free hand in front of her body, 'I'm talking to Harvey Dent! Harvey! Harvey! Harvey Dent!'

"Always nice to meet someone who appreciates our work…" his eyes flitted over to Rachel for a moment.

"Of course. I love you… I mean I love what you're doing for the city… both of you…" Kaia stuttered as she looked between the legal duo, blushing and wanting to disappear. 'Just talk normally Kaia, breathe…'

Thankfully, though his smile broadened, Dent didn't laugh or acknowledge her slip of the tongue… 'best dude ever' Kaia felt the heat slowly begin to leave her face.

"Well it's not only us anymore. We were just talking about the city's other defender…" Harvey's focus turned to the rest of the table, with a grin he spoke in deliberately humorous ominous voice. "The Batman…"

"A masked man with a bunch of toys… running around blowing stuff up…" Kaia found herself blurting out suddenly. 'Shhh!' she scolded herself.

"Here, here…" Bruce toasted believably as a part of his apparent act, though Kaia could sense the tightness hidden under his tone.

"That's a bit harsh…" Rachel's weary voice piped in.

Kaia snapped her light brown eyes for a split second back to look at Bruce, who was convincingly acting disinterested and playing with his cuff links…

His behaviour was irritating Kaia immensely for some reason and despite her best attempts to control her mouth Kaia once again found herself speaking, this time directly to Rachel.

"An uncontrolled individual doing whatever he wants to change the city? How is that any different from a thug? What's worse a thug with military force gadgets and resources. Meanwhile, there are people that need other real solutions for their problems… travel lines, hospitals and after school programs are shutting down…" Kaia listed, taking a breath "It's a short-cut…" her gaze focused back on Dent "due process separates us from chaos, and though the system might be broken you're in the public eye Mr. Dent, changing it. And you don't wear a mask and you don't have to throw around fancy toys to get things done…" Kaia went on "SO I hope you understand that when I think of the city's true defenders I think of people like you Mr. Dent and you Ms. Dawes and Laura… my friend's daughter… "

As she spoke, though she had technically been addressing the whole table, Kaia had felt as though she were directly speaking to Bruce 'which is probably only reason I was so able to speak so smoothly…' she thought back to their past exchanges.

"How lovely to hear a well formed argument." Kaia could hear the entertained tone in Miranda Tate comment that had followed the lengthy silence after Kaia's speech.

Kaia bit her tongue, "Right…" she looked at the distinguished members of the dinner party that she had just been unwittingly preaching to 'Oh man Kaia…' her gaze locked with Bruce's 'oh man…' Even the waiter, who was still there, was eyeing her with some confusion… 'all right the sooner I get out of here the better… steel up Taftan!' She thought to herself, taking solace in the fact that Ms. Tate was now speaking about elected officials and agreeing with her opinion.

Clearing her throat when the accented woman had finished, Kaia decided that the time to leave had arrived, the foursome looked up at Kaia as though they forgotten that she had been there. 'I wish…'

Resisting the urge to look down at her feet Kaia spoke after a small pause "…I didn't mean to interrupt your meal…"

"I invited you over…" Bruce cut in.

Her light brown eyes dropped to meet his familiar hazel ones "Right…" she did her best not to stutter "Oli… I mean Mr. Queen wanted to thank you for the wine. He had to leave in a hurry so…" she trailed off.

"Oh that…" Bruce waved it off "It was nothing…"

'Yes, $500 of liquid nothing.'

"Too bad Oliver had to leave though. Nothing very serious I hope?" The billionaire Prince went on to ask.

She shook her brown haired head. "An issue with permit for one of his charitable houses…" Kaia bit her lip, something had changed in the few seconds since she had thanked him. The way he spoke was the same, but the way he looked at her had reminded Kaia of that awful night in his house… She felt very strongly compelled to remind him '…To get up. To get up. To get up.'

"…anyway I should be going." She forced out, almost making a clean getaway, but… "And I just…" she continued speaking before she could stop herself. Kaia blinked at him for a breath, as he waited nodding his head expectantly, as she searched for the appropriate thing to say "ah… I just wanted to say sorry… about your house…"

"It's all right," Bruce gave a charming smile and easy shrug, turning his face to grin at his dinner guests before looking back at her "…though that's very considerate of you. Now if Oliver Queen steals you away I'll really be upset…" he chuckled lightheartedly, as did Mr. Dent and Ms. Tate.

Kaia noticed that Rachel was less than amused, the same as she… she was worried. 'He's lying…' Kaia thought of Alfred, of the house that had clearly been filled with memories and heirlooms and care 'It's not all right…'

Bruce stared up at Kaia, frowning at her obviously serious expression, before carrying on with a wide grin "Alcohol and I will be staying very far apart from now on I promise you…"

"Good to know" Rachel spoke before Kaia could.

Settling on a nod in agreement, Kaia gave her goodbyes to the whole the table and wished them a good night.

Oliver had left her his car to take her back home, it wasn't until she was safely behind her door that she felt herself breathe properly again 'no more favours for Ben' she looked around her small, cruddy apartment 'no more leaving this side of the tracks…'

* * *

**Hope the next one is soon. Let me know what you think :) Check profile for her outfit.**


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